Forgive and Forget
by jediman3477
Summary: To be thrusted into a conflict you never knew about or created is stressful and nerve-wracking enough, but for Jonathan, it's made ten times worse by the fact that he has a severe case of amnesia. Now, alongside a group of agents, Jonathan must find a place in this conflict for his new self and redeem himself from a past he can't (or doesen't want to) remember.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** _I like a considerable amount of things: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, AVP and especially Marvel Movies. Needless to say, when I first saw the TV series "Agents of SHIELD", I instantly became an addict. I am currently caught up with the series and I always wanted to add another mind and power to the squad and see how that affected the situations that they go through and I figured I would create Jonathan to add that effect. If you enjoy, the first chapter, be sure to review and follow and I'll continue! Hope you guys enjoy!_

 **Prologue: Jumpstart**

"The last thing I remember? Flashes.

" Painful bright flashes that seemed to blow up in my mind at random. They flashed clips as they appeared. Clips of random moments, like needles and people talking over me, armored walls surrounding me. It never showed the same thing twice. These flashes in my mind seemed to go on for what seemed like hours, just endless flashes that spiked pain in my arms and legs. Then the light came.

"I remember as the flashes kept on their steady pattern, I heard a man begin to scream in pain. Panicked voices followed and I heard the sounds of scuffling feet. The screams grew in volume and agony until the sound of an explosion ripped through my ears. No, I didn't die, but it sure as hell felt like I did. A superheated wave slammed into me like a Mac Truck, immediately ripping me out of my mind. The flashes faded and I felt my eyes snap open and my chest expand as I took in a pained breath.

"Now, I don't think I've ever tried a cigarette before, but I imagine that's what it tasted like, although what I breathed in was at least 10x the amount of what cigarettes offer you. I coughed and gagged as smoke traveled down my throat and slammed into my lungs. My eyes immediately watered as I realized to my absolute horror that I was completely surrounded by flames. My skin burned and blistered as the closest flames licked against my bare arms, as I wore only a tank-top and cameo jeans and combat boots.. I immediately scrambled up and tried not breathe in deeply. The heat was excruciating and pain was rapidly enveloping my body. I had to get out of there. Sweat ran down my face and my chest as I took off at a dead sprint through the building.

"I had no idea where I was going. The only thing I knew is that I would have rather been anywhere then there. My eyes were closed and my chest BURNED as I rapidly inhaled smoke as I sprinted through the flaming building. I kept running and running and, right when I was on the verge of blacking out, I crashed into a wall. There was a massive splintering explosion and I felt the pure rush of air. I opened my eyes in just enough time to see the road rushing up to meet me, it being littered with reporters and the fire department and everything. Right before I became a red stain on the street, there was the sound of an air pop and a force suddenly slammed into me. Somebody had caught me. There was an echoing crunch as whoever had me landed on the street.

"I honestly thought that, whoever it was, they had broken their legs upon landing. But as I turned my head, I saw what looked like the outlines of a crater on the street. I looked up and saw the outline of a hooded face against the Sun, looking down at me. Before I could even register facial features, I felt my consciousness slip away, replaced by darkness.

"For what felt like days, that's all there was: darkness. That sounds like a bad thing, but you don't know how good it was to get a break from those seizure like flashes that plagued my mind for so long.

"When I woke up, the first thing to meet me was the steady pang of my heart moniter and the blinding glare of the hospital room lights. I remember taking painful breaths, my lungs feeling like they were being torn into with every intake. After about ten minutes had passed, a nurse came in and began to ask questions about my name, my parents, my blood. That's when I got scared, not because I didn't want to answer her, but because I couldn't. I couldn't remember anything about my personal life, my past, my entire life was gone. Panic took me over instantly. Have you ever had a moment where you swear you know something, but it just….disappears into your mind? It was like that, but… on a much larger scale, across your deepest memories and personal life.

"The nurse had, of course, nothing to go on for me, so she marked me as an unknown individual and permitted a couple days of recovery before they kicked me. I spent the night trying to salvage my memory and remember who I was. After hours of trying, I had nothing to show for it. Nothing came back to me whatsoever. I was a blank in my own mind. The strangest thing was that I could recall recent events in the world, like the Battle of New York and the formation of the Avengers just fine, but all personal experiences were just...gone.

"Toward dawn, I began to try to focus to what I was doing in a flaming building when I woke up. Why was I there and if it was a coincidence that a powered individual saved me that day. I spent the morning rattling what I remembered around in my mind, trying to link any of it to any sliver of my past. But things began to get hairy around noon, because that's when she came.

"I was deep in thought when the door to my room swung open. A blonde woman with brown eyes and an all black dress strolled in, armed with a clipboard and dark glasses. She was flanked by two roided up, tattooed bald bodyguards. They wore green T-shirts and camo pants. They tried to hide it, but I also noticed the heavy-duty bullet proof vests hidden under their shirts. I immediately tensed. Something was wrong. The woman sat on the chair next to me and smiled a very unfriendly smile at me. 'Hello, Jonathan.' She said in a calm voice. 'How are you this afternoon?'.

" I was in a state of shock. She called me Jonathan. Was that my name? Did she know me? 'Who are you?' I asked. 'Do we know each other?'

"Her smile got wider and not in a nice way, like she relished the fact that I didn't know her. 'Yes, you do know me.' She said. 'In fact, I know your psych doctor.' I was baffled. I had a psych doctor? Is that way I couldn't remember anything? 'Your psych doctor was performing an experiment on you and…. Complications arose. We believe that it wiped your memory and during the ensuing delirious state, you wandered off on us.' Her eyes swiftly moved to her two guards, who moved to block the door. My heart began to beat a little quicker. Something was wrong.

"'Now that we found you,' She began. 'It should be no trouble at all to transport you back to the good doctor and get you your memory back.' She stood and swiftly wrote on her clipboard. 'I already have the paperwork filled out to clear you from the hospital, so if you would just come with us….'

" 'No.' I immediately said. 'No, I appreciate that you're trying to help me and I really do thank you for that, but I want to rest and get back to my full strength before I try any experiments out. Thank you.' I really wanted to get them the hell out of my room, but, of course, they couldn't take a hint.

"'No, I'm afraid that won't be acceptable. The doctor has a certain timetable that cannot be tampered with. We have to leave now.' As she spoke, I noticed the bodyguards edging ever closer to me, their hands dipping to their pockets.

"'Whoa, whoa.' I said, putting my hands up. 'I said I wasn't going. You can't force me to go where I don't want to go. You gotta be breaking some of your secret government laws if you force me to-'"

"Faster than I could process, both men drew their pistols and trained them at my head. Their eyes were ice cold and trained on me like a cat watches a mouse. 'Oh, sweetie.' The blonde mused as she stepped toward me. 'Who said we're with the government?' I felt my blood run cold and questions explode in my mind. Forget who I was. Who were these people? What did they want with me? Did I used to work for them and if I did, why? Unfortunately, these questions were overlooked by the fact I had two gun barrels pointed at my face..

"One of the guards grabbed me by my arm and yanked me up. My arm erupted in pain as the healing wounds opened up once more. As they pulled me to the door, the sound of shattering glass halted everything. Two sleek metal canisters rolled on either side of my hospital bed, venting a green gas as they went. Before any of us could react, both canisters exploded with a bright flash. Green gas billowed across the room, causing the guards, the lady and I to fall to our knees, grunting in pain. The gas made my eyes water and my nasal passages burn. I was completely stunned.

"In the midst of the chaos, I heard the blonde woman screaming, yelling for her guards to call reinforcements to their level. As she said this, I made out the shadowy complexions of two figures as they swung through the shattered windows and into the room. One of them immediately delivered a kick to the jaw of one of the stunned guards, knocking him face first on the ground with a pained grunt. The second guard realized what happened and stood to fight as well, but the figure was already two steps ahead. He delivered a swift blow to the guards left kneecap and as the guard dropped to the ground, screaming in pain, the figure grabbed his head in both of his hands and slammed the guards lower jaw against his kneecap. The guard crumpled to the ground. In the middle of all this, I felt a pair of hands lift me to my feet and begin to drag me to the shattered window.

"As this happened, my eyes began to water so much that I was all but blind, but I heard a lot. I heard the blonde woman scream in anger and yell out 'Shield!'. I heard running footsteps and the clang of metal and grunts of pain from both a man and a woman. I felt the rush of cold air and I felt myself gulp in the fresh air. I heard a muffled voice saying 'We have the package, Ward! Let's move!' And I felt myself begin to lift high in the air. That's when, for the second time in two days, I blacked out again."

"I woke up in this padded cell, paced for a bit, then you came and started your whole bad cop/worse cop routine. And now we are here." Jonathan let out an enormous sigh and leaned back in his chair. "There. That's my story. That was every last thing I did between getting that violent wake up call in that apartment complex and getting picked up by the lot of you. Does that answer your questions, Mr. Ward?"

Ward sighed as well. He was getting sick of this guy's smartass/ smart-aleck routine that he's been going through ever since the intterogation started. "Yes, thank you for giving yourself such a big alibi." Ward said this in a sarcastic tone, then immediatly switched back to menacing. "Now the question is, will this story of yours hold any water against our database? SHIELD has the most extensive database in the world. If your lying about any section of your story and we find out, you will be elegible for the most extensive punishments SHIELD has to offer."

"And what purpose would I get out of lying to you?" Jonathan inquired, leaning back over the desk. "One of the downsides to amnesia is that, because I can't remember anything, I don't even remember what side I'm loyal too! If I can't even remember what side your on, much less the side I'm on, then I would have really no sense of when or why to lie, right?!"

"Don't worry," Ward said calmly. "When SHIELD is done running your name through, we'll know exactly who you are. Your birth, your occupation, you social security number. You won't be an amnesiac for long, Jonathan."

"Good. It's the worst feeling in the world anyway, when you can't remember a damn thing about your life. Won't miss it. The faster you can certify that I'm normal, the faster you can drop me from this orginization dick-measuring contest you guys are having."

Before Ward could respond, the doors to the cell opened and Coulson stepped in, smiling his usual unreadable smile.

Ward stood. "Coulson, what did you find him? Anything bad?"

"Hopefully just normal?" Jonathan called out.

"That's the thing." Coulson said in his calm voice. "We couldn' tactually find anything on him. There was nothing on him in the database."

"What?!" Ward and Jonathan demanded at the same time.

"No drivers license. No phone number. No parents. No high school degree. Whoever Johnathan is, he's not on the grid in any way, shape or form."

"So, what," Jonathan asked. "Are you saying, in the governments eyes, I don't exist?"

"Nope, you don't exist at all."

Johnathan slinked to his chair in utter shock. He had no money, no name for himself, no house, no family? A normal life was completely out of the question for him. "What the hell did I DO to myself?" He asked nobody in paticular.

"If he's no lead for us, then I take it we're going to drop him somewhere with a fair amount of cash and a High School diploma and move on, right?" Ward asked.

Coulson turned to Johnathan, then back to Ward. "No, we keep him on the ship. He's part of the mission now."

Johnathan turned to look at him. "Whoa, whoa. Part of the mission? What mission? And how would I be even able to help?"

"I agree." Ward chimed in. "In what way could he possibly help."

"The people who tried to snatch Jonathan before we did?" Coulson began. "I believe they may be the orginization Skye spoke about."

"Ward looked confused. "You mean Project Centipede?" He turned to look at Johnathan. "What would they want with him?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. But I do know that, since we have what they want, we can use him as a leverage of sorts to help overthrow them." Coulson turned to Johnathan. "Congrats, Johnathan. Your officialy part of the mission.

 **Next Chapter:** Johnathan meets and suits up with the rest of the team as they try and track down Peterson and stop his madness before it's too late.


	2. Chapter 2: Curiosity

**Author's Note:** _T_ _he support given by you guys was amazing! Thank you so much for that! A lot you have already begun messaging me, theorizing what Jonathan used to be before he got amnesia. To all of your theories, I have to say MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I will not reveal anything about Jonathan's past unless it is in the story. So if you want to find out who Jonathan is, you must continue reading. I know. I'm evil. NEW CHAPTER! (I own nothing and no one except Jonathan) P.S. What is up, OC Architect? Good to see you again :)_

 **Chapter One: Curiosity (During S1, E1)**

 **Skye**

Curiosity was always a large driving point in Skye's life. For as long as she could remember, her actions were always nintey percent driven by her need to uncover, her need to shed light on all the dark corners she couldn't see into. She once assumed that it would eventually fade away, but as she grew older, that curiosity never showed signs of fading. In fact, it only intesified when super-humans started popping up, as Skye felt that the super-humans shouldn't be hidden from view and erased from the mind, but they should be shown and celebrated as the heroes they are. That's what led her to join the Rising Tide and, through a series of events, end up on this SHIELD plane.

Many people called Skye's curiosity a curse. The way Skye saw it, it was more of a blessing than a curse. Without her curiosity, she seriously doubted she would be where she was right now.

This ran through her head as her curiosity was, once again, peaked. She leaned against the wall as she watched Ward exit the ship's holding cell and lock the door behind him. "So," She said. "Are you going to tell me who it is that you're hiding in there or should I break out the truth serum again?"

Ward turned to her, annoyance evident on his face. "Your supposed to be prepping to get your audio files. This," He waved his hand back at the door to the cell. "Doesen't concern you."

"If it involves finding the Hooded Man, I feel like it does concern me." Skye replied.

"You are on a 'need to know' basis here in SHIELD." Ward said with an edge in his voice. "We don't need to share any information with you that we don't want you to know."

Skye smirked at the agent. "Okay, here's something that I feel I need to know: Did you guys even ask this person about the Hooded Man? Do they know anything about where he is?"

"Let us handle our prisoners our own way. I'm pretty sure we don't need the assistance of a lowlife hacker like yourself." With that, he turned and stormed down the corridor.

"I think you forgot 'beautiful', which is strange, since you said it earlier." She called out after him.

He stopped for a moment, clenched his fists, and continued walking.

Skye smiled to herself. Pushing Ward's buttons was becoming a fun hobby for her. She made a mental note that if she stuck around, she was going to do it a lot more.

As soon as he was out of sight, Skye turned her attention to the cell door. Not too long ago, she was the stranger in the cell, matching wits with Ward and Coulson. Now there was someone new in the cell and someone new on the ship. Someone that SHIELD was willing to bring on board, but someone they don't trust to walk around free on the ship.

More importantly, Skye knew that the only reason they would keep this person on the ship is if they have some value to the mission at hand, which meant the person was somehow connected to Peterson in some way, yet from the sounds of it, they haven't asked if the person knows anything about him.

Skye felt her curiosity increase with every thought. Whoever SHIELD was hiding there, it had piqued Skye's interest, which meant without a doubt it wouldn't remain hidden for much longer.

 **Jonathan**

Staring at the hectogonal patterned ceiling. That was the only entertainment that Jonathan was able to find in his cell.

"God, it's like they don't WANT their captives entertained." Jonathan spoke to the emptiness. He didn't know how the regulars in prisons dealt with his kind of boredom. (At least, he hoped he didn't. Was he jailed before?)

The least they could do was provide him with a magazine or maybe like Connect 4. And some food wouldn't kill him. He had been stuck in that cell for what seemed like hours with nothing. He didn't know what would kill him first: starvation or boredom.

A sudden hiss of released air echoed the cell. "Finally." He muttered to himself. He sat up to see the unreadable smile and glasses of Agent Coulson.

"Jesus, Coulson," Jonathan exclaimed. "What are you running here? Weight Watchers anonymous? You have given me nothing since I got here."

Coulson approached the table. "What I'm running is a deal." He said. He sat down on the seat away from Jonathan and waved at the other seat. "You want a seat?"

Jonathan regarded him for a moment, then approached and sat in the chair.

"I know you've been kind of reserved about helping us, Jonathan."

"Gee, I wonder why. After all, you only refuse to let me leave and keep me locked in a cell all day. Why would hold any disregard toward you people whatsoever?"

"I'm sorry about your arrangement, Jonathan. But you have to understand. SHIELD does have enemies. We have to take security measures."

"I've proven I'm no threat. I haven't attempted to escape or attack any of you!"

"That's true." Coulson agreed. "But there are still many unanswered questions about you. The obvious one that comes to all of our minds is the fact that Centipede seems to be searching for you."

"Who?" Jonathan demanded.

"Centipede is the name of their organization," Coulson said. "And they seem to have a special interest in you. That's what we know."

"Why? Why would they want me?"

"That's what we were hoping you would inform us when you were picked up. As it turns out, amnesiacs are hard to get information from."

Jonathan snorted. "If you can't get information out of me, then why keep me around."

Coulson brought out a stained white bag and placed it on the table. "Because SHIELD has dealt with amnesiacs before, believe it or not. And we hope to help you help us."

Jonathan crossed his arms. "Help you how?"

"Memory is jogged by the sight of something familier. We plan to show you a series of pictures in the hopes that some of them will grant you some information back and help us know more about Centipede. You get your memory back and we get the information that we need."

Jonathan snorted again. "And how do I know that will actually repair my memories?"

"We can't be one-hundred percent sure that it will work. There a different types of amnesia that work in different ways."

Jonathan was about to begin his rant on how governments never honor their deals when Coulson stopped him. "But if there's one thing that SHIELD is good at, it's honoring our word." Coulson leaned toward him. "I promise you that if you help us to the best of your abilities, I will use the best of MY abilities to restore your memory."

Jonathan pursed his lips. He had to admit, the offer was starting to sound good. But still... "And what is the word of a government agent worth?" He retorted. "If I remember one thing that hasen't changed about government agencies, it's that you tend to, no frequently, lie yourselves to power. You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs and I'm more then willing to bet SHIELD has broken more then it's fair share to get to the top. How do I know I won't end up like just another egg?"

"We've done things in our past that we're not proud of," Coulson replied. "But we've learned to move past that. SHIELD tactics have changed significantly since then. I promise to you on my badge and my life that you will not be harmed on my ship." He leaned forward. "We're not bad people, Jonathan. The goal of my time is to ensure that regular people are protected from the unexplainable things that can harm and kill them. Your memories could be crucial to aiding that goal today."

Jonathan was stumped. The offer sounded sincere and agreeable. SHIELD would try their best to help him regain his memories and, if they were connected to this "Centipede", he would pass down the info, easy. At the same time, he couldn't. If he chose to work with SHIELD, that would be choosing a side in the private war racket they had going on. It would kill any chance for him to have a normal life and not be mixed up in their madness. But a chance to regain his memories... to find out who he was and what happened to him to make him this way. His thoughts juggled in his mind for a few minutes before he made his decision.

"If I do this," Jonathan began. "I don't want to be officialized. The last thing I want to do is get the personal attention of your agencies enemies when they assume that I'm working for you. Don't get me wrong, I will help you guys, but don't peg me as SHIELD loyal. I'm only helping to protect the innocents who might get caught in the crossfire if your war spills out on to the streets."

"Understandable." Coulson agreed, still wearing his unreadable smile.

"And I want the option to tap out, Coulson." Jonathan said. "I want the option to just be dropped off at New York or Los Angeles to attempt to live a normal life without SHIELD interference and for you guys to never contact me again if I choose to."

"That can also be agreed. If you ever feel like it, we'll drop you off at a city and never contact you again." He smirked. "So if your issuing demands, I take it your agreeing to let us try and fix you then." He extended his hand out in a shake. Jonathan eyed it for a minute. _Last chance to pull out._ "Does SHIELD usually starve their helpers?"

Coulson's smile got wider. "Thought you might say something like that. Tell you what, shake now, I'll leave the bag and throw in three meals a day straight from the kitchen."

Jonathan looked down at the grease stained bag. The smell began wafting to his nose and his stomach began it's cries once more.

He sighed and shook Coulson's hand. "Alright, I'll agree."

"Great." Coulson said. "We'll begin the process soon." He turned to look back at Jonathan. "Sit tight." He said.

Jonathan stared at him for a few seconds then laughed. "Was that a joke?"

Coulson gave no answer. He turned and began to walk out again.

Jonathan eyed the bag for a minute, then opened it. Sitting in there, in it's greasy glory, was a bacon cheeseburger. Jonathan felt himself smile. "Bacon? Dammit, he's good!"

 **Skye**

The moniters lit up the minute Coulson place Peterson's license on the scanner, showing everything from his doctor's notices to his yearbook photos (that's bound to be embarrassing)

"Micheal Peterson," Coulson began. "Factory worker, married, one kid. Gets injured, gets laid off, wife jumps ship. Good guy, bad breaks."

The white file information files of Peterson illuminated the faces of Skye, May, Fitz, and Simmons as they continued to study it intently. Skye felt a little guilt rush through her as she watched the agents scroll through all of Peterson's personal life like it was pages of a gossip magazine, but she knew, after the video she saw of him tearing up his work place, that something was wrong and SHIELD was more trained to restrain and help powered beings then she was.

"Best guess is," Coulson said. "Someone said they could make him strong again, make him super."

"Who has the tech to do that?" May inquired. "And why would they want to?"

Coulson answered, "Fitz, what do we have from the security footage before the blast?"

Fitz immediatly dipped his head as his fingers flew across his tablet. Immediatly, an image appeared on the screen behind him, a very pixalated image of two men, one in a lab coat, seemingly fighting.

"What are we seeing?" May demanded.

Fitz turned to her. "Well, the man is angry at the other man."

Even as she nervously chewed her fingernails, Skye smirked. She always enjoyed a smart aleck remark, no matter the mood.

After an awkward two second silence, Simmons chimed in. "The data's corrupt."

"It's very corrupt." Fitz agreed. "Yeah, like Cold War Russia corrupt. I-I can't sync the timecode without-"

The revelation was sudden. Skye immediatly knew what the problem was and knew she had the way to fix it sitting in the alley behind the resteraunt. "What if you had the audio?" She felt all eyes lock on her the second she stopped talking. "I was... running surveillance on the lab. I had my shotgun mic pointed at the window before the blast. The digital file's in my van. There's too much background noise for me but you could probably-"

Simmons, the braniac that she was, finished Skye's thought for her. "You can clean that up, can't you? Find a sync point and use cross field validation to find-"

"But I can't scrub for expression patterns-"

"But if you cross-"

Skye watched in amazement as the two seemed to synchro and talk in their scientific language until finally they turned back to them.

"Um, that audio would be great-"

"We will take that audio please."

"Your van's here." Coulson piped up.

Skye looked at him in shock. They dragged her van on the ship with them? No one said anything about SHIELD taking her van.

"But you were right, we couldn't decrypt the files."

As she spoke, pride shot through Skye. She managed to make a system that even SHIELD had trouble hacking. She was GOOD. "The encryptions coupled to the GPS. Get my van back to that alley and I'm in business." She turned and began to leave.

"Agent May will escort you." She heard Coulson say.

"Before we move out, what's the status on our asset, Coulson?" May asked.

Skye felt herself stop. Their asset? She felt her curiosity swing back fully as she started to backtrack to Coulson.

"He's willing." Coulson reported. "Doesen't seem to have a soft spot for SHIELD or any agency for that matter, but he's willing to help wherever he can. Clearance just came in for the Amnesiac Testing Protocol. All that's left to do is to start asking the right questions."

Amnesiac Testing? This person... a guy, by the sounds of it, couldn't remember something? Then what was the point of keeping him around? Was he of some value to the mission at hand? Skye's curiosity reached it's peak rather quickly. She had to know.

"This asset?" She asked. "You don't happen to mean the person you have in the cell right now, do you?"

"Possibly." Coulson replied. "Why the sudden interest?"

"From what I can tell so far, it sounds like this guy has some connection to ethier Centipede or some other thing connected to Peterson in some way, otherwise he wouldn't still be on the ship. And it sounds like your getting ready to do some type of unique questioning. If your going to question this person about Centipede, Peterson and everything that's going on, your going to need someone who knows Peterson's personality and someone who knows the basic workings of Centipede to confirm the information he might try to pass on."

"Are you trying to recommend yourself for this, Ms. Skye?" Coulson wondered.

Skye had to keep herself from smiling. If she played this right, she could finally see who SHIELD was hiding in that cell.

She shrugged. "Not OUTRIGHT reccomending, but I do know more about Peterson and Centipede, enough to tell if he's trying to lie his way out of the situation. I think, if anyone should be confirming what this asset has to say about the situation, it should the person who knows the most about this information."

After a short silence, Coulson nodded. "Alright, Skye. You temporarily sold me." He held out a packet embroiderd with the SHIELD logo, which Skye took. "I'll brief you on the packet. You get ten minutes with him, then you go for that audio. Deal?"

Her gnawing curiosity made the answer almost immediate. "Deal."

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan was wrong about staring at the ceiling. It wasen't the only pastime he could make in the cell. He found that, with the empty burger bag, he could make a really entertaining game of sorts. It was like basketball, but it worked... exactly the same in every way, except with trash instead of a ball. It didn't sound like much, but Jonathan gladly took it over watching the ceiling and seeing what shapes he could make with them. After a couple hours of that, Jonathan swore that he began to hear his brain slowly shrink. (Although, he doubted it could seriously shrink even more then what it felt like. With all the memories gone, his head always felt so damn empty. It was without a doubt the strangest feeling ever.)

Right as he was about to begin his second "no lose" streak in his trash-ball career, he heard the all-too familier hiss of the doors opening. He let out an audible sigh, leaned back on his bed and resumed his ceiling game once more. "So Coulson, are you finally going to be administering this 'testing' I heard so much about last time or are you going to be a vauge bastard for five minutes and leave again?"

Jonathan was geared and ready for a humorless-yet-at-the-same-time humorless retort from Coulson. He was completely caught off guard by the sound of a female snort. "Reassuring to know that he's a vauge bastard with others, too. Glad I'm not the only one having to suffer through it."

Jonathan immediatly sat up and swung his legs around to face the entrance and this new voice. Standing with her back to the already re-sealing door, was a young woman. The first thing he noticed was the clothing she wore. She didn't wear a suit or any formal attire the way Coulson and his very intimidating friend were. She wore the clothes of an everyday civilian, which threw Jonathan off a little. She carried only a packet with her, embroided with what looked like a dark image of an eagle in the front. She looked young, maybe early or mid-twenties. She was a very pretty Chinese-American, with olive-toned skin, dark brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to intently analyze Jonathan, seemingly trying to pry every speck of information that they could from him. Jonathan could respect that. He just tried to do the same with her.

His wit talked first: "I'll be glad when he stops doing it to us all-together. He could get his point across much faster that way."

She smirked, "Yeah, good luck convincing any part of SHIELD to stop being vauge all together." With that, she moved to the table and placed the packet on top of it.

Jonathan studied her for a few more seconds before speaking. "We haven't met before, have we?"

She looked up at him. "No, we haven't."

Jonathan let out a little sigh of relief.

The woman looked at him curiously. "Seem to be pretty happy not to have a potential connection to the past."

"Yeah, well, the last people I found that claimed to have a connection to my past kind of held guns to my head and tried to kidnap me, so for now, I'm kind of fine steering clear of that for a while."

"Yeah, I can see why." She sat. "So, you really have no idea why these people are hunting you?"

Jonathan sat on the chair opposite of her and shook his head. "I have nothing. I can't remember anything."

"That's why I'm here." She said and she opened the packet. Inside were a multitude of drawn notes and charts and an array of pictures. "SHIELD suspects that the people who are hunting you are part of an orginization known as Centipede, a group of people who have a connection with the rising number of super-humans. SHIELD is in the middle of a mission that involves tracking and helping a person who is..." She hesitated. "Not acting right. They think Centipede might be connected."

"Whoa whoa," Jonathan said. "Why is an orginization that's interested in Super-Humans hunting me? I'm not Super-Human."

"Why they're looking for you, I don't know." She replied. "But, if there's one thing I've learned from watching some of Centipede's movements, it's that if they want you, it's probably not for a good thing."

"Oh, that's reassuring." Jonathan quipped. "What about this person SHIELD is trying to track down? Who is he?"

Again, she hesitated, almost as if she almost didn't want to tell him. "Does the name 'Mike Peterson' mean anything to you?" She slid forward a picture of an African-American man in a blue sweatshirt in about his mid-20's.

"Besides it being one of the most generic names I've ever heard?" He thought about it for a minute. He felt his head throb for a second, as if it was trying to remember something, but wasen't able to pull up anything. "No. That name doesen't sound familier."

She pursed her lips. "Peterson is a super-human. He has enhanced strength. Strong enough to lift a car like it was a two pound weight. He's a good guy, but recently he's been acting a bit... strange."

Jonathan stared. "What do you mean by strange? Is he hurting innocent people?"

"He... injured one so far. He threw his manager around before storming off. We're trying to stop him before he hurt's anyone else."

Jonathan stared down at the picture of Peterson, intently thinking. What was he getting himself into here? "So, the hope is that, if your able to restore my memories, I'll be able to help SHIELD find Peterson and Centipede?"

She nodded. "That's their big hope."

Jonathan stayed silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Okay, how do we start this testing then?"

She smiled and pushed the pictures forward. "Just take a look at the pictures in the packet. They're of a lot of SHIELD and Centipede related things. The hope is that one of these will jog your memory and hopefully-"

A loud beeping sounded as her watch began to flash. She made a disgusted noise. "Dammit! Just when things start taking off." She rose. "Just go through all the pictures. Hopefully something comes back."

She turned and walked toward the door as it hissed open. Before she walked out, she turned around. "My name is Skye, by the way."

Jonathan smiled at her. "My name is Jonathan, I hope. It was good to meet you, Skye."

Skye smiled back. "It was good to meet you too, Jonathan." With that, she walked out the door, calling out as it closed "Hopefully next time we meet, it won't be in a cell."

"I hope that as well." Jonathan said as he began studying the pictures.

 **Skye**

As Skye made her way down to the Hanger Doors and her van, she ran over what happened in her head. Jonathan was very amnesiac, no doubt about that. He was definately connected to Centipede in some way, though Skye didn't know how exactly.

His personality was made up of a lot of wit and sass, but also genuine caring about innocents and curiosity about situations that matched Skye's. He didn't seem like a threat to Skye. If anything, she felt he would make a valuable ally to have in all of this. One thing was for sure though: Jonathan had peaked Skye's curiosity.

 **45 minutes later...**

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan remained focused on the three pictures he had chosen from Skye's packet. His hands remain raked through his hair as he intently studied every little detail about. One picture that sat on the table was one of the man Skye had shown him, Peterson. It showed Peterson on security footage, about to walk into a complex, look over his shoulder as if expecting someone. The minute Jonathan made eye contact with that one, he knew he recognized those doors, but at the same time, he didn't. He was confusing himself, but he KNEW he saw that picture before.

The next showed a simple silver or iron square, complete with an orange aura around the sides. He didn't know why, but he felt dread when he made eye contact with it, like he almost had like PTSD revolved around the thing, but that was nothing compared to what he felt when looking at the third picture.

It was a white symbol across a black background, showing what look like a skull perched by an array of tentacles that held it up. Jonathan felt nothing but complete dread when he saw that picture, like all the hope of the world just died. It was not a pleasent feeling.

It didn't help anything though. Jonathan felt something around these pictures, yes, but no memories ever came out of looking at them. Just feeling.

"What does it mean?" He muttered to himself. "Why do I feel this way around them, but I can't get any memories out of them? What does this mean?"

He decided to take a mental break. He sat on the bed and took a couple of sighs. He went over the information in his mind.

Peterson on a rampage. Centipede the cause. SHIELD wants to stop them and him. Jonathan was the only lead to that. He sighed and let his thoughts roll. SHIELD needed his help to stop them, but he couldn't remember anything. He was of no help right now. Besides, if Peterson had last contact with a SHIELD agent, all of this means nothing since he'll just...

Jonathan shot up. "What was that?!" His head began to throb once more. He... He thought of something involving Peterson. Peterson and a SHIELD agent! If Peterson had... Jonathan grabbed his head. Symbols. He was hearing crashing symbols. If Peterson had..contact...with a SHIELD agent... he would... he would...

Jonathan sprang up from his bed and ran to the closed door. He began punching it and yelling "COULSON! COULSON, I NEED YOU TO HEAR ME! I NEEd YOU TO HEAR ME NOW! COULSON!"

"Jonathan," a calm voice echoed through. "Please restrain yourself. If you need food, then we'll provide it shortly..."

"Coulson! This isin't about my needs!" Jonathan groaned. "You need to pull all of your Agents off the ground now!"

"That isin't your call to make, Jonathan. My Agents are on missions right now and..."

"No! Don't you get it! It's Peterson! You don't know what he's about to do!"

 **Skye**

As Skye quickly dropped the drive down her shirt as May looked away, she couldn't help but smile. He she was, sneaking her tech and information by SHIELD agents and getting more info thanks to SHIELD. Everything was working out.

"Are you done?" May asked.

"Yup." Skye reported.

"Then lets-" May suddenly grunted in pain behind Skye. She turned just in time to see Mike Peterson throw May into the wall, where she impacted and landed hard on the ground, not moving,

Peterson turned to look at Skye, his eyes now replaced by a madness that Skye had not seen before. Skye felt only chills as Peterson approached her.

 **Next Chapter:** Jonathan and the Team VS Peterson


	3. Chapter 3: Peterson

**Author's Note:** _I_ have _another story on my account that everyone wants me to update and I've been working that recently. But dammit... I can't stop thinking about this story, especially because, in the wake of Civil War, I have an unquenchable Marvel High going on. Couple that with the support shown by you guys and you make a story that I don't want to stop writing! Extra long chapter this time! Thank you all for your support and please continue!_ _NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Two: Peterson (Near the end of S1, E1)**

 **Skye**

Pure fear was not an emotion that Skye was used to feeling. When it came to situations that would usually send a normal person running and screaming for any kind of help they could find, Skye always prided herself on the thought that she would always run full speed towards those situations without even batting an eye. She could handle the things that normal people couldn't. That's what made her special.

Now, with Mike's maddened eyes bearing on her, his fists clenched and his breathing heavy, coupled with the fact that she knew he could easily snap her neck with his thumb, she felt herself wishing she could be anywhere but there.

"Mike," She said. "What are you doing?"

He looked back at the unconcious Agent May, then back to her. "Saving you." He breathed out. "From the scary men in dark suits. And you're gonna help save us."

Confusion threw itself in with Skye's fear. "Us?" She asked uncertainly.

Mike turned and reached out of Skye's view. Ace was dragged into the light of the van's interior, his eyes locked on his dad, fear evident.

At the sight of Ace, Skye pursed her lips in nervousness. She understood that Mike loved his son, but even she knew bringing him into a situation like this was not going to end well. The sheer fact that Mike would even bring Ace here helped Skye fully come to terms with what SHIELD was saying: Mike was becoming mentally unstable and they needed to stop him.

She heard Ace whimper in fear and nervousness. "Don't cry." Mike said. "Okay? Stay strong for me, Ace." Mike took his son into his arms and quickly boarded the van. He sat down and held Ace close. "What are we?" He asked.

"We're a team." Came Ace's quiet answer.

"That's right." Mike answered. His eyes locked once more onto Skye, sweat beading across his head. "Now drive." He demanded as he slammed the van's door shut.

 **Jonathan**

Eternity. That was definately the word that Jonathan would have used if he had to describe how much time had passed since he made his announcement to Coulson and the freaking loudspeaker went quiet. The way he was waiting right now, Jonathan swore that he was at the DMV, except with much nicer employees and a place to sleep.

Jonathan began to pace nervously around his room, his hands clutching at his head, as if scraping for any salvagable memory left in his head. He was hoping for it to happen again, to have whatever brain spark he had just moments ago to return and give him more knowledge, something, ANYTHING he could use. But his mind pulled up nothing, just like countless times before. His frustration grew steadily. What did it mean? Why was he remembering nothing, but feeling fear and anxiety around the pictures. What did it all mean?

Jonathan was startled by the sudden hiss of the door. Coulson walked in, his smile replaced with a look of pure seriousness. His eyes locked on Jonathan. "Jonathan," He said. "You said you realized something about Mike Peterson. What was it?"

What he knew almost flew out of Jonathan's mouth, almost as if it was desperate to escape. "Centipede side-effects!" Jonathan exclaimed. "I really don't know how I know this, but if Peterson HAS been experimented on by Centipede, like the file says, then there might be an exploitable side affect that we can use to find Peterson, though you may not like it, Coulson."

"If it can locate Peterson for us, I'm pretty sure I'll overlook the fact that I don't like it." Coulson replied.

"Okay," Jonathan took a deep breath and kept his mind focused on the thoughts that remained in his head, not willing to let them dissapear.

"I don't remember the full details of it, Coulson," He began. "But I'll tell you what I do know. One of the major effects of a deteriating sanity in a Centipede Enhanced Human is Stalking Syndrome." Jonathan grasped at his head once more as he tried to keep his thoughts in place. It was almost like his mind was trying to work against him, trying it's hardest to pull apart the thoughts that he just got back.

"St..." He now struggled to get his thoughts back. "Stalking Syndrome is the effect... that..." Jonathan groaned and stumbled, sweat starting to prosper across his forehead.

Coulson appeared at his side. "Jonathan? Jonathan, stay with me." Two of Coulson's fingers went to his left ear and pressed against it. "I need a medic down in-"

"No!" Jonathan exclaimed, pulling down Coulson's arm. Jonathan closed his eyes and focused. His fists clenched as he held on to his last thought with all of his will. Finally, after a minute of struggle, Jonathan let out a breath and rose to a stand.

"Are you okay?" Coulson asked.

"I have one hell of a headache," Jonathan admitted. "But I'll live. The important thing is, I still remember, which is more then I can say for the rest of my memories." He faced Coulson once more. "What I was trying to talk about was the possiblity that Peterson may have Stalking Syndrome, an aftereffect that, if he really is losing it, will make him extremely paranoid and unstable. There's no doubt in my mind that he's probably looking for any way to seperate and isolate himself from the city and SHIELD."

"How can we use this to track Peterson?" Coulson asked curiously.

"Paranoia would make anyone desperate for a way out, Coulson," Jonathan began. "And it would make a person try to find a someone that they trust or, at the very least, seems like a person who could provide a way out of the situation. If Peterson has had any extended contact with anyone lately, he'll most likely be tracking that person down for a way out."

"It seems you could have relayed this information a lot more calmly then you did originally." Coulson pointed out. "Why the big show and monolouge to get our attention?"

"Just in case one of your agents had any extended contact with Peterson, Coulson." Jonathan said. "At this point, Peterson is desperate. The files said he had a son, which is only going to make him more desperate to get out of the city, so his mind is going to be focused on the last person who so much as gave him a pencil. If we can identify the last person who talked to Peterson, then we can track..." He trailed off.

It happened in less then a second, but Jonathan still noticed it: The flash of what looked like realization and worry across Coulson's face.

"Oh, hell." Jonathan muttered. "It IS one of your agents, isint it?"

Coulson's fingers immediatly went to his ear. "I need contact with Agent May and Skye. New intel. Peterson may be en route to their location."

Jonathan froze. Skye? The girl who gave him the files? The only person who seemed to be sane on the entire ship? The feeling that Peterson may kill innocent people was bad enough, but knowing it's someone he met and talked to just a short time ago? It only made the anchor heavier.

Coulson's fingers lowered from his ear and his eyes went back to Jonathan. "If Peterson is coming after them, then this might be our chance to stop him before he digs himself a hole he can't hope to climb out of." Coulson reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out what seemed to be a small little remote. "You said that the last thing you wanted to see was innocents die."

"I still don't." Jonathan firmly states.

"Then this is your chance to save people from dying." Coulson turned to the cell door and clicked his remote. A familier hiss echoed through the room as the door once again opened. He turned back to Jonathan. "If we're going to find and stop Peterson, we'll need all the help and knowledge we can get. I need you with my team. Can I count on you?"

Jonathan stared at the open cell door. He knew if he stepped out that door, he'd be putting himself in absolute danger. There would be no guarantee at all that he would return to this ship alive or intact. He could die.

After a few seconds of thought, Jonathan let out an audible sigh and smirked. "Well, if there's a good thing about being amnesiac, I'm pretty sure I've got nothing to lose." He followed Coulson out of the cell and towards the mission at hand.

 **Fitz**

Fitz's fingers flew across the tablet he held. The hologram broadcasted in front of him began to change for him, the explosion that once filled the screen now shrinking to a small ball of fire.

He, Simmons and Ward kept their eyes glued to the image in interest, watching as even the explosion began to fade away. Before it could advance any further, the image began to pixilate, distorting all facial features and overall evidence.

Fitz cursed and his head immediately dipped back down to his tablet. His fingers flew once more, targeting and upgrading the highest amount of pixilated spots.

Even with all the danger the job presented, Fitz had to admit that it felt great to put his skills to use in such a big way like he was with all the new technology. He had no doubt that Simmons would have agreed with him on that. SHIELD was giving him the opportunity that they had never thought possible: the chance to use their skills for the greater good. To be heroes.

Coulson walked down the steps to the hanger just as Fitz corrected the last kinks in the image. Fitz looked up to speak to him and was confused by what he saw. Following behind Coulson was a man Fitz had not seen before. The man wore no SHIELD garb, which was an obvious indicator to Fitz that he wasn't an agent. He wore a blue t-shirt and blue jeans. He had black wavy hair and dark green eyes that seemed almost unsure and thoughtful.

As Coulson and the man reached the ground level, Fitz asked the obvious question on his mind; "Who is he, sir?"

"This is Jonathan," Coulson replied. "Our person of intelligence on the Centipede Organization. He's here to help. Jonathan, meet FitzSimmons, our people of intelligence on intelligence in general."

"Intelligence on intelligence?" Jonathan asked. "Those must be some pretty smart people."

"You have no idea." Coulson agreed.

Jonathan reached his hand out to Fitz, who shook it. "Nice to meet you. I'm Fitz." He said.

Simmons nodded to him from across the image projector. "I'm Simmons."

Jonathan nodded at her, then turned to Ward. He smirked. "Nice to see you again, Agent Ward."

Ward snorted in response. Fitz got the feeling that, as of right then, Jonathan and Ward were not on the best of terms.

"Fitz," Coulson said, breaking Fitz from his thoughts. "What have you got from the security footage?"

"Um," Fitz stammered a little. "I just finished reparing the last of the overall image, so," His fingers began race across the screen once more. "We can get a clear image of what caused the detonation."

The large explosion appeared once more on the image projector and it began to shrink at an exponential rate. Everyone's focus once again drew to the image as the explosion began to draw pieces to itself, eventually forming into the solid form of the man from the beginning of the tape, the difference being his appearence.

Fitz took mental notes of the glowing orange cracks that seemed to criss-cross the man's face and his expression, which seemed to be that of pain and discomfert.

Coulson stepped toward the image as well, focusing his eyes on the man's face. "Extremis." He stated.

"What exactly is Extremis?" Jonathan asked. "Because, judging by our friend here, I take it's not very good on the body."

"It's new." Coulson turned to them. "And completely unstable."

Simmons sighed in realization. "Poor man didn't _bring_ an explosive." She looked to the group. "And Mike has the same stuff in his system." The worry arriving in her eyes was evident even through her goggles.

"And," Ward said, his arms crossed. "Judging by his strength level, a lot more."

"Oh my god," Jonathan mumbled. "Peterson's a mobile ticking time bomb."

Slowly, fear began to set into Fitz. "So, any minute now, Mike is gonna-"

"He'll take out anyone within a two-block radius." Simmons finished.

Fitz turned back to the image on the projector, his eyes glued to it. Peterson was a living bomb. He was a living bomb and he was loose in the city, home to thousands of innocents that knew nothing about the situation.

Coulson turned and began to walk away from the image. He stopped at Ward's side and turned to him. "Well, you wanted a bomb."

"Tell me we have a plan." Jonathan asked. Fitz wanted the answer to that as well.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan didn't know his strength's yet, but he definately knew one of his weaknesses now: He didn't work well under pressure. The fact that there was currently a man who was a ticking biological bomb loose on a city filled with innocent civilians was definately not helping him work any faster.

As he and Coulson worked on trying to get in contact with Skye and Agent May and Ward prepped his rifle behind them, Simmons voice broke their concentration, "Sir?"

Jonathan and Coulson turned to face Fitz and Simmons, who approached them side-by-side. Jonathan felt it was probably rare to see them apart.

"He didn't explode because he was angry," Simmons reported. She let out a sigh before she continued. "The two _are_ connected. It's- It's kind of a chemical surge. But calming him down will buy him a minute at most. He _will_ detonate within the next few hours."

"Solution?" Coulson asked, his eyes determined.

Simmon's expression turned into sadness as Fitz looked down, his eyes not meeting theirs. "Isolate him," Simmons finally said. "Get him away from the people."

"Or?" Coulson pressed.

This time, Fitz spoke, the pain in his voice evident. "Put a bullet through his brain."

There was a cold click from Ward's rifle behind them. Jonathan was in shock. They were going to kill Peterson?

"If he's dead, this irradiated metabolic process will stop." Simmons confirmed.

"Whoa, whoa" Jonathan put his hands up. "You're just going to put him down like a rabid dog? He didn't ask to be a bomb. You can't just kill him for something he didn't want. He has a son."

"We don't like this anymore then you do," Simmons said. "But if we want to assure that no civilians will be hurt or killed within the next few hours, this may be our only way."

Coulson turned to Ward, then looked back at them. "Jonathan's right." He said. "We need to come up with a third option, one that doesn't involve Mike's son losing a Father."

"We have a couple of hours at most." Simmons said to him as he turned to go back to the briefing room. "There's no way we could possibly-"

Coulson whirled around and marched back to FitzSimmons, his eyes furious. "Don't ever tell me there's no way!" He angrily shouted, startling the scientists and Jonathan. "It's on you." He sternly stated. "Get it done."

Coulson turned back to the briefing room as FitzSimmons quickly made their way back the lab. Jonathan quickly followed Coulson, still in a bit of a shock at the agent leader's anger.

He hadn't even known Coulson for that long and yet he was still shocked by the furious outburst. He didn't even think Coulson knew about the angry emotion.

As Jonathan entered the Briefing room, he saw Ward sling his rifle up to his shoulder, signaling that it was armed and ready to go.

A beep suddenly sounded from one of the moniters. Coulson pulled a small remote from his jacket pocket and clicked it. "May," He said. "I have new intel that says Peterson may be en route to your position."

A voice Jonathan could only assume was Agent May answered, "He already found us. He took Skye."

A wave of guilt hit Jonathan at hearing that. Peterson now had an innocent girl in close proximety with him, with only hours before-. Jonathan leaned against the table, his head dropping. "Does being right usually feel this crappy?" He muttered.

Coulson pursed his lips before he continued, "You all right?" He asked.

"We'll deal with that later," Came the pained and peeved reply. "At length. Right now we need to figure out where they went."

Coulson turned to him. "You said that the paranoid person would be looking for any means to leave the city."

"I did say that." Jonathan confirmed. His mind raced to see what Coulson was getting at. If they were looking for exits straight out of the city, "They're would only be so many places to go!" Jonathan exclaimed. "We'd be looking for bus tranzits, train stations, airports. Anything that could get someone away quickly."

Coulson moved to his moniter. "Union Sation. A train station two miles west of Skye's last known position. If your right, that may be our best bet."

"En route." reported May. There was a click as her line closed.

"'Our'?" Ward asked. "Don't tell me he's coming."

Jonathan was puzzled for a minute, then realized who Ward was referring too. "Me?" Jonathan asked. Coulson and Ward's looks certainly weren't saying no. "You want me on the ground with you guys?"

"Your memories seemingly flash upon seeing objects that seem even somewhat familiar to you." Coulson said. "If you see Peterson, who knows? You might remember something key to stopping him without killing him."

"Look, I'm in favor of helping you guys, but your asking me to step in front of a maddened man with enhanced strength. There's no guarantee that anything will even come to me if I see him."

"We need a way to save Peterson, Jonathan." Coulson replied. "There's no harm in trying." He turned to Ward, nodded and walked out of the room.

Ward scoffed, but he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small pistol, tossed it to Jonathan and followed Coulson out.

"Actually, there's plenty of harm when you think about it!" He called after them. He was intially reluctant, but as he began to think about it, he came to realize he was just a curious as Coulson. What if Peterson did awaken something about his past. He WAS involved with Centipede, the organization with an eye out for Jonathan. If he did get some memory back, it COULD help stop Peterson from hurting hundreds.

He finally let out a sigh and followed Coulson and Ward out of the room and down the stairs. As they descended the steps, a loud beep sounded from Coulson. He looked down at his wrist-watch, then to Jonathan. "Right twice in one day? Impressive, Jonathan."

Before he could question it, he heard shouting from the hanger.

"What is this nonsense?! Why are you making nonsense?!"

As they reached the bottom of the steps, he saw what looked like a lab, complete with long tubes, whirring machines, beeping moniters and two familer faces. Fitz and Simmons were huddled around one moniter, both sharing obvious frustration with something.

"This isn't me!" came Fitz's frustrated response. "It's noise. Someone's hacking our channel."

 _Great_ , Jonathan thought. _Along with everything that's happening, SHIELD's getting hacked. This day just keeps getting better and better._

"It's longitude and latitude." Coulson said, stopping Jonathan's train of thought. The doors at the end of hanger hissed and a rush of air raced into the room. "Mike took Skye," Coulson said as Ward entered a Black SUV and turned the engine over. "She's telling us where."

Coulson entered the passenger seat as Jonathan took a seat in the back. "What, I'm not permitted shotgun?" Jonathan quipped.

Ward glared at him as they backed out of the plane. "Do you never take things seriously?" He snapped.

"I guess I'd rather make people feel more at ease then make them feel stressed," Jonathan snapped back. "Unlike you and your stick-up-the-ass personality."

"Play nice," Coulson snapped at both of them. "I need you both concentrating on the mission at hand."

Jonathan stopped the heckling, which gave him more time to think about the situation. In reality, he was a bit terrified. His heart began to beat heavily in his chest. He was an amnesiac guy currently on his way to an impossibly dangerous situation where many innocents were in the crossfires.

He tried to calm himself by focusing on other things. He started thinking about all the people he would be saving from a horrible fate by doing this mission. He would be saving Fathers, Mothers, Brothers, Sisters. And Skye.

He found that he now had a respect and friendly admiration for Skye. Not only was she the first actual sane person to introduce herself to Jonathan, she was also, by what Jonathan had seen, a very capable person. Hell, she had literally hacked into SHIELD to have her location revealed so they could find her. Jonathan was impressed. He found himself hoping the young hacker would make it through.

His thoughts moved on to the weight in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out the pistol, studying it intensely. He felt it was given mostly for defense, as the last thing any of the team wanted to do was kill Peterson. But that didn't help the fact that he didn't know how to properly use it. Maybe he did at one point, but his mind was a blank right then.

Ward watched him through the rear-view mirror and smirked. "Need a gun lesson before the mission, rookie?" He said.

Jonathan glared at him. "Like I would ask for your help for using..."

His mind suddenly swelled as his eyes locked on the gun. He felt the same rush as he felt in the cell.

"A Glock 22 with a modified slide, frame and barrel. Ammo at max." Jonathan immediatly said. Surprise rushed through him as his hands adjusted themselves to properly handle the firearm.

Coulson watched with interest. "Studying the weapon first hand accessed your knowledge of using it."

"I never knew I could use a gun though." Jonathan said as he held up the glock. "It make's me wonder what else I know, and, more importantly, who the hell I was."

Before anyone could respond, Coulson's arm shot to his ear. "Ward, pull off to the side."

As Ward pulled off to the curb, the three men exited the SUV, a megaphone in Coulson's hand. They began to make their way through the crowded sidewalk. The amount of people around made Jonathan's heart beat faster. If they didn't find Peterson in time-.

"Look at this place," Ward hissed beside them. "You're going to risk thousands of lives over some nobody."

"Nobody's nobody, Ward." Coulson replied.

"Peterson's a living person and a Father." Jonathan said. "He's far from a nobody."

"He's a living weapon endangering thousands," Ward replied. "Simmons is right. The only way to save these people is to put him down."

"Give Fitz and Simmons time." Jonathan growled. "There's always another way."

"Fitz-Simmons will come through." Coulson said as they stopped at a blue van.

Jonathan quickly scanned it. The van had definatly seen better days. Rust marks patterned the vehicle and the blue paint that probably once gleamed had now faded to a blue-whitish color. There was no one in the driver or passengers seat, so Jonathan knew that Peterson must have been hidden in the back, with Skye in tow.

Coulson raised his megaphone as it turned on with an array of beeps. "Mr. Peterson, good morning." He called.

Jonathan hoped there was more to the plan then just saying hi.

"We're not a threat, we're here to help." Coulson continued. "But you're in danger. We need to take you in."

A muffled shout came from the inside. The officers that had surrounded the van swiftly placed their hands on their pistols. To his own surprise, Jonathan's hand automatically went to his pistol as well.

"Oh, this isn't going to end well." Jonathan muttered.

A dead silence hung intensely in the air, the only sounds being distant radio chatter. Before anyone could even move, there was a massive explosion of sound as the van's sliding door flew off, barely missed two officers and soared towards them.

Jonathan's reflexes moved before he did, immediatly throwing him to the ground as the metal projectile soared over their heads and clattered next to a group of civilians, who quickly moved away.

As Jonathan stood back up, he saw Mike Peterson exit the van, gripping a child with one arm and Skye with the other. As his maddened eyes scanned the group, he made eye contact with Jonathan. Jonathan immediatly felt his head throb with an intense pain. He clutched his head in agony as Peterson sprinted into the train station with his two hostages.

As he continued to writhe in pain, there was a sudden flash in his mind. _He saw the needles once again as they were slowly lowered to him. He began to scream as they entered him, his screams matching with that of a man's beside him. He couldn't see who. The other man was behind a white curtain. But his screams... his screams were that of someone in truely agonizing pain. Screaming._

Jonathan's eye's opened just in time to see Ward rush by him, pistol in hand. As his senses returned, he quickly stood, grabbed his pistol and followed Ward inside.

The first thing to greet them were the crowds of people bustling around the station, all talking and moving, easily muffling any vital sounds and camouflaging any fleeing SHIELD fugitives.

Beside him, Ward cursed. "We're never going to find them in this mess."

"Look for the signs." Jonathan said.

Ward looked at him incredulously. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"If Skye's way to help us locate her was any indication about her personality, then this means she'll be looking for unique ways to show us her location. Look for anything that looks out of place."

"Right," Ward growled. "Because it's so easy to find something out of place in a train station."

A loud series of yells echoed from one part of the station. Jonathan and Ward turned just in time to see a man fly about six feet in the air yelling, his arm and legs flailing, before falling to the ground.

"That seems like a good place to start." Jonathan said. Ward didn't disagree.

As the two made their way through the crowd, Ward's communicator clicked. "This is Coulson. We have Mike's son. Extracting him now." Jonathan felt a little more relieved. The kid didn't have to go through any more hell. He was safe.

After a good minute of pushing, Ward and Jonathan stood near the outskirts of the crowd circle that had formed around Peterson as he angrily called out for Ace. As Jonathan saw Mike again, his head throbbed once more, though not to the extent of last time. His pain lasted for a minute before it passed and he was left feeling puzzled until Ward snapped him out of it.

"I'm going in," Ward growled. "Stay here, Jonathan, in case he tries to break for it." Before Jonathan could reply, Ward was already off toward Peterson, leaving Jonathan to scan the crowd for their missing hacker.

Jonathan didn't see her with Peterson anymore, which meant she escaped during the ruckas. He scanned the crowds nearest to Peterson, looking for any sign of Skye. Suddenly, a flash of brown hair and a purple shirt caught his eyes. Jonathan took off at a dead sprint through the crowds and intercepted her feet away from a pair of doors, catching her arm.

Skye whirled around, her eyes a mix of fear and anger at first, but they slowly melted away as she made full eye contact with him. "Jonathan?" She asked.

"I know," He said. "Small world, huh?"

"But...how did you convince Coulson to let you in on the team?" Skye asked. Her tone didn't say that she meant any malice. More of a friendly curiosity.

A yell of anger and a groan of pain echoed through the station.

"That is a story best saved for after I get you the hell out of here." Jonathan hastily replied.

Jonathan and Skye bolted to the door that Skye originally was going for, his hand going for the handle. To his utter shock and horror, the door did not budge.

"Shit," Jonathan muttered. He turned to Skye, who was even more frustrated then him. Wow, could that girl curse. "Skye, we have to go around to the main entrance. It's our only way now."

Skye nodded, but as both of them turned, a sudden sound of impact stopped them dead in their tracks. All around them, the civilians scattered as Mike Peterson rose to a stand in front of them.

For the third time in one day, Jonathan and Peterson made eye contact. Jonathan braced himself for the torrent of pain but, to his relief, it never came. It didn't matter though, because what Peterson said next threw Jonathan completely off.

"It IS you." Peterson growled at him.

Jonathan felt a wave of shock run through him. His blood ran cold. "You know who I am?" He asked incredously.

Peterson's arm slammed into Jonathan's chest, hitting him with what felt to Jonathan like the force of a semi-truck going ninety. He flew through the air and impacted hard against the solid floor. His chest cracked and pain flared across his body. He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure he broke a couple of ribs.

Jonathan was in pain, but he knew he had to get back up. Peterson was close to detonating and there were still hundreds of civilians around the area. The team needed all hands on deck. Plus, Peterson knew something about Jonathan, something that made him see an enemy. He had to find out what.

As Jonathan began to struggle to a stand, the blast of a shotgun went off feet away. He looked up to see an officer, his shotgun drawn and smoking from his shot. He had his firearm aimed at Peterson, who kept a tight hold on the recaptured Skye. His eye's remained focused on the officer, his fury and paranoia evident in his face. To Jonathan's horror, an orange glow rushed through Peterson's right cheek. They didn't have much time at all.

Jonathan expected to hear the officer order Peterson to release Skye and put his hands up, but to his confusion, the officer never uttered a word. Jonathan turned his gaze to him. His brown hair was greased back and he wore the usual garb of an officer, but it was his eyes that startled Jonathan. They were cold, calculating, menacing and determined. The look he wore was one of a man who knew the next shot he took would be a kill shot. He was no cop. And he was going to shoot Peterson.

Faster then he thought he could move, Jonathan drew his Glock, took aim and fired. A hole suddenly popped into apparence with a mist of blood in the officer's right leg. The officer buckled a little and let a groan of absolute pain, but he still tried to take aim, the tough bastard. Before he had a chance to, Peterson kicked in the locked door with ease and raced in, Skye in tow.

The officer cursed and turned to Jonathan. "You'll definitely be my next target after him." He growled before limping out the door after them.

Jonathan groaned. "Yeah, that asshole is definitely not an officer." He muttered to himself.

He turned and, through the thinning crowd, saw Coulson helping Ward to a stand.

"You told them to hold fire." Ward said.

"I don't think that's us." Coulson said as he stared out toward the now busted door.

"Yeah, he's definitely not us." Jonathan agreed.

Coulson's fingers went to his ear. "We may have a third party here. He's gonna head down to the tracks." He turned to Ward. "You stay high, we'll go low. Only take the shot if you have to, Ward."

Ward turned and headed down the station floor.

"Ward!" Coulson called out.

Ward looked back at him. "If I have to." He confirmed. He continued on.

"I'm going after them." Jonathan said as he started toward the broken doors.

"Jonathan," Coulson called after him. "Peterson is dangerous enough. With that rouge officer there..."

"I'll find a way to manage through!" Jonathan snapped. "Peterson knows SOMETHING about me, Coulson. I need to find out what."

With that, Jonathan made his way through the broken door, up the stairs andout towards an outside walkway, cautiously checking corners on his way through and clutching his chest every so often as his broken ribs shifted painfully. He crossed into what looked an unfinished lookout over the station entrance and that's where he heard the shotgun blast, followed by the pang of shattered glass.

"Get down!" Peterson's voice rang out.

Jonathan took off at a dead run toward the voices. Peterson came into view just as he threw Skye aside. Another blast echoed. Peterson violently reeled and hit the railing, flipping him over and down to the ground below. The sound of splintering wood was heard, followed by the voices of startled civilians, then silence.

"No!" Jonathan exclaimed angrily.

The officers whirled around to him, his shotgun aimed just as Jonathan trained his Glock on him.

"Drop it." Jonathan growled.

"Why would I do that?" The officer smirked. "If I remember correctly, your my next target anyway."

A flash of movement caught Jonathan's eye. He smirked. "Yeah, your right. How's the leg, by the way?"

The officer snarled. "Still in pain. Let's see how you feel when I put a shell through your eye."

"Still in pain?" Jonathan said. "Then let's focus on that, May."

The officers confused look didn't last long as May slid into view and slammed her hand against the officer's bad leg. The officer stiffined as he yelled out in pain. May's arm shot up and grabbed the officers shotgun, pulling it to the side as the man groaned. Her fist reeled back and slammed into the man's chest, which produced another yell of agony. Her hand then flattened against his chest as her leg swiped under him. The man flipped and landed chest-first on the ground. As he tried to recover, May delivered a punch to the face and the man stilled.

May stood and turned to Jonathan. "Nice job keeping his attention." She said.

"I was just lucky he liked to talk." Jonathan replied.

May nodded at him and moved toward the interior railing while Jonathan went to check on Skye. She was on the ground, her eyes wide.

Jonathan took her by the shoulder and helped her to a stand. "Are you alright?" He asked her, scanning her for any obvious injuries.

"Yeah," She assured. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her eyes met Jonathan's. "Thanks, Jonathan."

Jonathan smiled. "I try." He quipped. Their eyes remain locked on each other for a few seconds before a yell of anger broke them out of it.

Jonathan immediatly ran to the rail and looked over to see Peterson crawling out of the wooden splinters, a red glow rippling across his face.

Jonathan felt himself sigh in relief, but he also felt dread bubbling up at Peterson's appearence. "Good news: Peterson is alive." Jonathan stated. "Bad news: He's pissed."

He whirled in each direction, angry and confused, before his gaze focused on the lone man approaching him, a look of pure determination on his face.

"Coulson," Jonathan muttered. "What do you think your doing?" His mind raced. Coulson was going to try to talk Peterson down, there was no question about that. If he succeeded, Jonathan needed to be down there to ask Peterson questions. If Coulson failed... Coulson would need all the help he could get.

Jonathan turned away from the railing and began to walk swiftly to the stairs. "Coulson's trying to talk down Peterson." He said to May and Skye as he passed. "Ethier way that ends, Coulson's going to need us."

He made his way down the steps and out toward the main entrance, where Peterson stood between two staircases, with Coulson mere feet away from him. At the front, the police had created a barrier, assault rifles trained on Peterson. A few feet up to Jonathan's right, he noticed the gleam of Ward's sniper rifle.

Jonathan began to key in on the exchange between Coulson and Peterson.

"I know your strong." Coulson said. "Your boy knows it. He needs you let us help."

"You took him!" Mike exclaimed, his voice beginning to break. "You took my wife, my job, my house." He gritted his teeth, lifted the arm and pulled back the sleeve. "You think this is killing me?!" He shouted.

Jonathan's eye's focused on the machine strapped to Peterson's arm. It's strange metal legs seemed to grip intensely to Peterson's arm, while the strange orange orbs lining it glowed. It looked almost like a... "Centipede." He muttered. Immediatly, his mind throbbed once more. The pain wasn't as all near the pain that the first time brought, but it was still enough to make Jonathan stumble.

He... knew that design. It was something that... he sort of recalled.

His thoughts were interrupted when both Skye and May appeared at ethier side of him, their worried eyes focused on Peterson.

"All over, there's people being pushed down," Peterson said, his voice cracking. "Being robbed." His hand clutched a metal structure. "One of them tries to stand up," With a grunt, he ripped the structure out like it was paper. "You got make an example out of him." He growled.

"You bring this building down on us," Coulson said in a stern but calm voice. "Will that help them?"

"That's a lie!" Mike roared. "All you do is LIE!" He swung the metal into a twisted piece of sign, callapsing it immediatly.

As Mike turned to face them, the veins in his face glowed an intense orange. Jonathan began to painfully bite his lip. They didn't have much longer.

"You said if we worked hard...If we did right...We'd have a place." Peterson said as he took slow steps toward them. "You said it was enough to be a man." He spread his arms. "But there's better than man. There's Gods. And the rest of us... What are we?" He shook his head. "They're giants. We're what they step on."

Jonathan took in what Peterson said. He wasn't wrong. Over the past few years, things have been thrown at the Earth that Humanity wasn't expecting. A man created the ultimate tech tech weapon, Gods brought their battle to Earth, a 1940's hero was resurrected and, most recently, the invasion by an army from another world. What is a common man supposed to do to defend the Earth against those kinds of opposition?

As Jonathan thought, Coulson stepped in front of Peterson. "I know. I've _seen_ giants- up close. And that privilege cost me... nearly everything. But the good ones, the real deal? They're not heroes because of what they have that we don't. It's what they do with it." Mike began to look away, sadness and frustration now replacing the madness. "You're right, Mike." Coulson continued. "It matters who you are."

Jonathan smiled. _It matters who you are._ It didn't matter the odds, the outcome. If you have the right people by your side, you always make it in the end. Maybe... there was hope after all.

Peterson closed his eyes and sighed. "I could, you know?" He said sadly. "Be a hero."

Coulson began to smile. "I'm counting on it."

Jonathan smiled. This was going to end on the best possible scenario after all.

Those thoughts were dashed as a silenced shot reached Jonathan's ears. Suddenly, Peterson's head snapped back.

From behind Jonathan, Skye let out a small gasp as Peterson fell, unmoving.

Jonathan, after a second of shock, swung around to Ward's position and was about to demand why the hell he took the shot when he stopped himself. Ward was holding up a glowing rifle that Jonathan had never seen before, looking down at them with a "mission accomplished" look to his face. Beside him was Fitz, looking down at Peterson with a worried expression.

Simmons suddenly ran past, straight to Peterson's body. Curious and worried, Jonathan followed. Peterson had some kind of bullet lodged in his head, though instead of killing him, it released a blue liquid of some sort into his bloodstream. The orange glowing vanes were quickly overtaken by the blue, then as the blue dissapated, it was replaced by the normal color of the skin.

Simmons looked up to the rest of the group and smiled. Relief washed over each of their expressions as May called in the medics and Fitz gave the thumbs up.

Jonathan hooked both hands to the back of his head as he let loose a long pent-up sigh of absolute relief. They had won. They had actually won. Even with every part of science saying the only way was to kill Peterson, they had found a way to spare him and hundreds of civilians. It was a feeling that made Jonathan feel amazing.

He made eye contact with Coulson, who nodded at him. Jonathan nodded back at the senior agent. He had to admit, the way Coulson led his team was impressive. He had managed to bring together some very impressive people and forge a team that has, so far, proven they could handle big situations. Honestly, he had nothing but respect for the Senior Agent.

He then saw Skye, relief still on her features. The girl had impressive skills and an impressive mind, in Jonathan's opinion. For a hacker that they just pulled off the streets, (Jonathan scoffed. Should he really be judging her for that?) she could hold her own quite well in dangerous situations. She seemed like she would be a very good ally and loyal friend to have. And Jonathan didn't have many friends at the moment. He knew it was time to start making them.

Skye met his eyes and she smiled at him. Jonathan smiled back, giving her the thumbs up that Fitz had given him. She smirked and moved into the crowd as the police entered to fully evacuate the station.

Behind him, he heard a click as Coulson got on is communicator. "Subject in stable condition." His voice rang out. "All clear at Union Station."

 **Two hours after mission end...**

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan was back on the plane. He was back on the plane, but not in the same way, same thought process or the same room (thankfully) as before.

He sat at the bar, casually sipping at his scotch while he studied the SHIELD logo printed on the wall in front of him. He was deep in thought. When he first came to on the ship, for whatever reason, he held government organizations in not the best of light. His mind set was fixed on how the organizations were cold, without souls and never once cared about anything except gaining power and profits.

Now, after everything he had seen during the mission, he began to doubt what he thought, what he remembered.

"Do you know why SHIELD chose the eagle as their logo, Jonathan?"

Jonathan turned to see Coulson beside him, his eyes locked on the SHIELD logo.

"Besides the fact that it looks pretty official?" Jonathan said as he took another sip.

Coulson smirked. "I wouldn't doubt that was one of the reasons we chose it." He turned to Jonathan. "SHIELD chose the eagle because it represents everything that we hope to strive for. Freedom for the world. Protection for the innocent."

Jonathan smirked. "Why are you telling me this, Coulson?"

"Because Director Fury tasked me with the mission of finding a group of good people that could work to beat the impossible and hold true to the SHIELD ideals." Coulson explained. "After what I saw today, there's no doubt in my mind that we managed to find that team." He put a file next to Jonathan. "That include's you, Jonathan. SHIELD wants you at the team's side."

Jonathan scoffed. "Coulson, I told you. Becoming an agent is like painting a target on my back for your enemies. As much as I appreaciate SHIELD now, I can't become..."

"A valued asset." Coulson said.

Jonathan turned to him, a confused look on his face. "An asset?"

"I know your wary about become a direct part of SHIELD, Jonathan." Coulson said. "Your conflicted because you also want to help us protect the civilians and save the world."

Jonathan was caught off-guard. How the hell did Coulson read him so well?

"Skye had similar concerns as well," Coulson said. "That's why, instead of an agent, she was made an official asset of the team. Being an official asset to SHIELD will put you in the position of not being directly involved with SHIELD, but you'll still be able to help us to best of your abilities."

It was an offer that Jonathan found himself kind of... wanting. After everything he had seen, he knew he wanted to make sure something like what happened to Peterson never happened to another innocent person. This was his chance. But a thought nagged at him.

"Coulson, why would you want my assistance?" He asked. "I'm not an expert hacker like Skye. I'm not a combat trained soldier that can incapacitate people in ten different ways. I'm just an amnesic that got lucky today. What can I offer to the table?"

"When you came too shortly after your pickup, you thought you didn't know how to use a gun," Coulson said. "Then you took one look at a gun and you suddenly knew exactly to use it. We think your muscle memory may be dorment, Jonathan. Your trained to effectively use a gun. Who knows what else your trained with? You might be more trained then you think."

Jonathan looked down at his hands. To think there might be things that he didn't even know he could do, that his body knew exactly how to do. It was a strange feeling.

"I know potential when I see it, Jonathan," Coulson said. "And you have plenty of it, not just because of your sleeping knowledge and muscle memory. One of the main reasons you were validated to become an asset is that you knew, even when you had the shot, to not pull the trigger. You sought any other way then ending Peterson's life. And that's a skill that is valuable, especially in this line of work."

Jonathan thought about Coulson's words. Every time he faced Mike Peterson, he never had to urge to let out a shot. He never once considered putting a bullet through his head. He remembered that the option was never even considerd by him. It just seemed wrong to him in some way.

After a moment of silence, Jonathan's eyes looked to the file again. "If I were to accept this, Coulson, there's nothing saying that Centipede won't try and track us down to find me. You could lose your agents."

Coulson looked back to the SHIELD logo. "There are always odds like that against us, Jonathan." He said. "SHIELD usually has the odds stacked against it. But we always manage to find a way to avoid or trek through it, one way or another." He turned to Jonathan. "I see no reason for that tradition to end with this team." He said without a single trace of doubt.

Jonathan's eyes focused on the file once more. If he did it, he knew that he would be officially entering a war. He knew that dangers. He knew the risks. He knew that there was always a chance that he would not survive the missions at hand.

He smirked. "Your lucky I find this team so damn likable," He quipped. Jonathan clutched the folder and pulled it towards him. "I'm in, Coulson." Jonathan said.

Coulson's unreadable smile made it hard to say what he was thinking. "Welcome aboard, Jonathan." He said as he shook Jonathan's hand.

A surge of pride rushed through Jonathan. Working alongside SHIELD. He had a feeling his life was certainly about to get more interesting.

"Asset Jonathan." He said. "I like the ring to that."

Coulson smirked. "Best get some rest, Jonathan." He said as he began to walk away. "We meet in six hours in the briefing room for the details on our next mission."

Jonathan was dumbfounded. "And what exactly is our next mission, Coulson?" He called after him.

"A report of a 0-8-4." Coulson called back.

Not to his surprise, Jonathan found the answer less then helpful. He smirked. "Vauge bastard."

"Make's you feel any better, he was even more vauge when he told me."

Jonathan turned. Standing a foot away from him was Skye, now clad in a red dress, arms crossed. "Yeah, I don't think it's a habit Coulson's going to break anytime too soon."

He scoffed. "Well, if he better find a better way to relay his orders then. I don't think it counts as an order if it has be deciphered to understand."

"If you even manage to decipher it." Skye replied. "I'm pretty sure SHIELD's firewalls are easier to decipher then Coulson's orders."

"This coming from the master hacker?" Jonathan asked. He playfully whistled. "Coulson must have one hell of a personal firewall to take down the girl who hacked SHIELD from her van."

She chuckled at that. Arms still crossed, she began to make her way to the bar. "So," She said as she neared him. "If you're trying to get information about the next mission, same as me," She took a seat next to him. "Does this mean you'll be sticking around?" She asked curiously.

He smiled. "That's the plan. I've been pegged as an asset though, which I'm totally fine with. Coulson seems like a good guy and the others seem pretty harmless, but it's just SHIELD as a whole that I'm not entirely sure of yet."

Skye did not take her eyes off him the entire time he was talking. "You don't know how much you just made my day." She finally said. "I completely agree. Coulson and this team do seem like trustworthy people, but that doesn't make up for everything SHIELD has hidden from us and lied to us about. The public needs to hear the truth about everything."

Jonathan was surprised by how he actually kind of agreed with her. The public had a right to know about the situations at hand in their cities. If they did know, it would give them time to prep and evacuate if need be. Looking at the recent Battle of New York, if the people had known about the impending invasion, it would have given them a chance to evacuate and maybe save many of the lives that we're lost. Tactically, it made sense to tell them.

"I'm not going to disagree," Jonathan replied. "If people knew, that would make things easier."

Skye smiled at him "I'm glad you stayed, Jonathan." She said. "It seems like you're the only other sane person here."

Jonathan smirked at the comment. He was glad they had a shared opinion about each other. "Sane and amnesiac," Jonathan said. "The latter of which I hope SHIELD can help me get rid of."

"They're going to help you get your memories back?" Skye asked.

"They're going to try. Weather that's a good thing or not, I'll let you know when I find out."

She scoffed. "Knowing our luck so far, Centipede is not looking to give you flowers."

Jonathan scoffed, although he knew Skye was right. From what he's seen so far, Centipede definately didn't have his best wishes in mind.

As he thought, he and Skye made eye contact once more, her brown eyes locked on his. Immediatly, his mind cleared, all thoughts gone. After a few seconds, a loud ping broke the eye contact. They immediatly both turned their heads in opposite directions.

Skye looked down at her at her phone and cursed. She looked up at Jonathan. "I've got to go. One of my hacking programs just finished." She stood and started down the hall, then stopped and looked back. "This was fun, Jonathan." She said. "We should do it again sometime."

Jonathan smiled. "Anytime, Skye. Bar's always open."

She smiled and continued on her way, which gave Jonathan a chance to think. His mind focused on what Skye had said a minute ago, _Centipede is not looking to give you flowers._

It was true. Centipede was actively searching for him, hunting him apparently for something he did in the past. Something that made him an enemy in their eyes. In the eyes of Peterson. And he intended to find out what that was.

 **Next Chapter:** **The Investigation of 0-8-4**


	4. Chapter 4: Temple Diving

**Author's** **Note:** _Sorry this took so long._ _Season four of Agents of SHIELD looks pretty promising, especially with the addition of the infamous Spirit of Vengence. The storylines they can do with Ghost Rider are endless. And I can already tell the storyline is going to greatly surpass the horrible movie franchise, thank god. Thank you for all the follows and favorites on this series and I'll be pumping out new chapters as fast as I can! My new plan is to release two or three chapters every month. That's the new plan. I can't promise anything, but know I'll be trying my hardest on this story. Please follow, favorite and review!_ _NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Three: Temple Diving (Start of S1, E2)**

 **Jonathan**

One would think that the constant sounds of clicks and beeps that resonated within the lab like one big song would somewhat muffle the sound of crackling paper. Unfortunately for Jonathan, the sound of the paper crunching under the pressure of his palms was the only sound that his ears chose to single in on.

When the report on Peterson finally came in, Jonathan thought it would finally lift the cloud of confusion swirling across his head. As it turns out, the report did nothing except replace confusion with absolute frustration.

The report relayed that, while Peterson was cured from Fitz/Simmons modified bullet, it knocked his entire body with a forceful jump-start, effectively knocking him out cold for what could be months. The only lead that Jonathan had to his past had just been put on ice. It was like having an eyeful of everything you could want and dream, only to have an impenetrable iron door slammed hard in your face.

His frustration was definitely not unnoticeable. "Not good news, I assume?" Simmons said, tablet now no longer holding her gaze.

"Based on his reaction, that is not good news." Fitz chimed in, his thoughts very temporarily away from his research.

Their tone was far from mocking. It was laced with general curiosity and some worry, which Jonathan expected. He had been around them not even a full three days and he knew that Fitz/Simmons were not usually ones for mocking. That just wasn't them.

"It's good news in general," Jonathan responded. "Peterson is alive and that's fantastic, but at the same time, two months in a coma. My only lead to who I am and he's out of commission. It's... A bit frustrating."

"We can only imagine." Simmons said sympathetically.

Fitz picked up where she left off, "Living day by day, not knowing who you are, what you've done, wether one has any true identity out in the world..."

"Wow, your beside manners are HORRIBLE." Jonathan replied.

Simmons smirked. "We've heard that before."

"One of the many reasons we chose the occupation of scientists over the social-friendly job of a doctor." Fitz chimed in. "And we WERE a bit rushed when it came to finding a cure to Peterson's biological instability."

"We certainly wanted to avoid putting him in a coma," Simmons said.

"No no, I understand," Jonathan said. "Creating a cure sounds difficult enough, but rushed like that?" He sighed. "I would have freaked out, to be honest. I honestly don't know how you guys do it."

"I like you already," Fitz said with a smile. "Asking how we do it as opposed to demanding us to do it."

Jonathan smirked. He had to admit, when he decided to become an asset to SHIELD, he expected the standard military procedure. Early wake up times, a vein-popping man shouting square in his face, constant mile runs, open locker room showers and uptight agents peppering the plane. He was pleasantly surprised by the company on the SHIELD plane. (Well, most of the company).

They certainly weren't uptight well uniformed agents of the government that Jonathan expected them to be. They were actually really likeable and characteristic people who for the most part joined SHIELD, not for the fat stacks or the power, but to assist in protecting the civilians from the dangerous unknown that has become all the more apparent thanks to the recent rise of the Avengers.

He still held some reservations against SHIELD as an organization, but Coulson's team itself? He saw them becoming friends, which uplifted Jonathan. In the state he was in, having allies was probably the best thing he could have.

"Well," Simmons said. "That's one new member befriended," She turned toward the hanger entrance, placing her tablet on the table. "One to go."

Jonathan followed her gaze. Coming up the hanger, two bags hooked around both of her shoulders and box in arms, was Skye.

As she neared them, Jonathan noted her brown eyes taking in the surroundings of the hanger, seemingly analyzing every aspect of the ship. He had to respect her for that. She seriously didn't let any of her surroundings go unnoticed. He smirked to himself. No wonder she was so good at using her surroundings to her advantage. Aside from hacking, she was also a tactical thinker.

The doors to the lab clicked and hissed open as Simmons moved to Skye, Fitz and Jonathan in tow behind her. "Oh, Agent Coulson told us the news," She exclaimed happily. "What a wonderful surprise. Isn't it, Fitz?"

"Yeah," He chimed in from behind.

"No, it's wonderful." Simmons said again.

"Yeah, a surprise." He agreed.

"You must be very excited." Simmons finished.

Jonathan chuckled. At this point, he had gotten used to the duo finishing each other's thoughts like it was nothing. He was fairly certain he could probably have a full on conversation with Fitz/Simmons and only say one sentence.

Skye smiled. "Yup," She replied, looking around at the ship. "First day of school."

"First day in one hell of an insane school," Jonathan said.

Skye smirked. "You can say that again." She replied before handing Fitz the cardboard box.

"Okay," Simmons began. "So, just... sorry." She squeezed past Skye and moved toward the stairs, motioning for them to follow.

Skye and Jonathan began their way up the steps, followed closely by Fitz.

"So," Jonathan said. "Out of the frying pan and into the fryer for both of us then."

Skye snorted. "Something like that." She replied. "But if there's one thing I think we can both agree on, it's that good or bad, our lives are about to get a hell of a lot more interesting."

Jonathan smirked. "Based on what I've seen so far? I have no doubt about that."

 **Coulson**

"Skye?" Ward began as he and May followed Coulson inside the briefing room. "Girl's not qualified to be a SHIELD agent. Jonathan?" He scoffed. "He can barely remember his name. He's not qualified."

"Agreed," Coulson stated as he turned to the table monitor, tablet beeping in his hand. "That's why I've invited both of them on as consultants."

May scoffed and looked at him in obvious frustration. That was fine. He had expected the reaction from her and, if he was being honest, she was less vocal then originally anticipated. Ward shot him the same look, which Coulson also easily brushed off.

"SHIELD does it all the time." He told both of them. "Technically, Stark's a consultant."

"And technically," Ward shot back. "Jonathan has an unknown tie to Centipede, an assumed Superhuman related terrorist cell, and Skye is a member of the Rising Tide. Jonathan has shattered memories and for all we know, he could be a Centipede Trojan Horse and Skye hacked our RSA implementation -"

"Twice," Coulson said. "From a laptop. And Jonathan's memories were able to provide us with intel that led us to Peterson in time to save him." He looked up from the monitors at both of them. "Imagine what both of them can do with our resources."

May kept silent, seemingly going through it in her mind. Ward didn't do the same.

"I am," Ward replied. "That's exactly what I'm imagining during this frown."

Coulson looked at him, smirking. He could already tell he definitely was not an agent who would accept outside help of any sort.

"You brought me on for risk assessment," Ward continued. "They're a risk." He leaned forward. "They don't think like us."

Coulson looked back at him. "Exactly." He answered confidently before turning back to the monitors.

Coulson knew human nature. He knew that in order to make an effective team, the last thing they needed were agents who followed orders down to the point. The first minute they got in trouble and the plan strayed, they wouldn't know how to react and they would end up injured or killed.

They needed thinkers. They need improvisers, people who thought, not like an agent, but in their own improvised way. A way that could get them out of the unexpected in unexpected ways. That was the purpose of his team. And he saw potential in their assets. Definite potential.

After a moments silence, May spoke up, "We have two kids on this bus who aren't cleared for combat." She fixed Coulson with a frown. "You're adding two more."

"At least Fitz-Simmons are trained SHIELD scientists," Ward chimed in. "But Skye and Jonathan?" He shook his head. "You said this was a select team. Assembled to work new cases, to protect people. I don't see how letting some amnesiac and hacker tag along -"

"I'm looking for an objection that I haven't already anticipated." He sternly told both of them. "I'm calling this." He turned to Ward. "But your frown will be on record."

Ward and May both shot looks at him, but they moved on.

"We've been called in to investigate an 0-8-4." Ward said. "We all know what that means."

"Yes, we do," Coulson confirmed with a smirk. "It means we don't know what that means."

 **Skye**

"Officially," Fitz said excitedly as they entered what looked like the lounging area. "It's an airborne mobile command station. But we call it the Bus."

"Damn," She heard Jonathan say beside her. "If you label this massive thing Bus, what do you label as Planes? Small moons?"

Skye smirked. She had to say, the "Bus" was probably the most advanced and biggest planes she had ever been on. All around her, there was an audible whirr of gears and monitors, almost beckoning her to tinker with them. The lounging area was outfitted with a massive plush couch and two recliners, and only a short walk way from both the briefing center and the bar.

It was a pretty comfortable setting, which shocked Skye a little, because if there was one word she thought she would never associate with SHIELD, it was comfortable.

"Bus is a shorthand," Fitz happily explained to Skye and Jonathan. "We find it best to use shorthand when in the field. But everything has to be just so, you know, because of the danger."

Skye felt a rush in her blood as she kind of mentally laughed. She knew all too well about the kind danger that SHIELD tries to stop.

"Yeah," She replied. "I've been up here before, but I didn't see much because of the bag that Agent Ward put over my head."

Beside her, Jonathan snorted. "Reminds me of how he threw me in a locked padded cell and interrogated me."

Skye looked over at him, sympathy building for her amnesiac friend. "All the more reason to push his buttons." She said micheviouslly.

He smiled. "I'm always game for that." He replied.

"Yes," Simmons interjected. "So sorry about all that. Water?" She now held two water bottles, each with the SHIELD insignia proudly stamped on their wrappers. SHIELD had standard issue trademarked water bottles. Skye shook her head in disbelief. That was unexpected. Jonathan looked just as confused as she was.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pleasant ping over the intercoms, almost like a "return to your seats" ping on airliners.

"Wheels up in two." May's voice said through the intercoms. "Lock or lose it."

"What's that mean?" She asked Simmons.

"No backing out now." Simmons replied with a smile. "Let's find some bunks for our guests."

"Oh," Fitz said. "Oh, yeah. There's only one left and it's right next to mine."

Jonathan turned to Skye. "You can take the bunk," He offered.

"You sure?" She inquired. "Looks like a pretty comfortable bed."

"Go ahead." He insisted. "You've got stuff for one thing, so you'll need a place for that. Plus, looking on how plush that couch is, I feel like it would be a crime to NOT sleep on it."

She smiled. "Thanks, Jonathan." She said.

"Anytime, Skye." He replied. His demeanor showed that he really meant it.

"Great!" Fitz said as he rushed forward and placed the box in the center of her bed. He turned towards her as she neared her new room. "Sorry." He breathed out. "You can..." With those words, he ducked and quickly sprinted out of the room.

Even the standard issue SHIELD bedroom impressed her. It was a full sized bed, complete with a full TV sized monitor at the foot (even the screensaver was of the SHIELD logo. Why was she not surprised?)

It probably didn't sound like much to a regular person, but for Skye, it was like a full-sized mansion compared to what she had to sleep on before.

As she quickly finished putting down the rest of the bags, a knock suddenly caught her attention. She quickly turned and found herself facing Agent Ward, his always stern-face carrying a (surprise!) stern expression.

"Hey." She said. "I know we didn't really -"

"Might want to read that." He interrupted as he dropped a pamphlet in Skye's hands. "This isn't like other planes." With that, he continued on his way down the hall.

Skye let out a sigh. SHIELD Agents. With that, she opened the pamphlet and quickly studied it. The pamphlet highlighted the multitude of emergency systems installed on the Bus, ranging from automatic fire extinguishers to emergency float boats installed on the sides in case of an aquatic crash. It outlined how to properly use a parachute, which doors could be sealed and unsealed and which sections of the shop were critical to being held in case of hostile takeover. It was certainly levels more advanced then your average safety checks aboard an airliner.

This isn't like other planes, was what Ward had said.

"You can say that again." She muttered under her breath.

"Say what again?" asked a voice so suddenly, Skye jumped.

Approaching her was the well-dressed, hard-to-read, leader of the team, Agent Coulson.

She smiled. "Sweet ride." She told him.

"A heavily fortified one at that," Jonathan chimed in as he came up behind Coulson, pamphlet in hand. "I have to say, SHIELD is amazingly thorough. I'm pretty sure this plane had a plan prepared for if a meteor strikes it."

"Plan DD3." Coulson said with a smirk.

Jonathan looked impressed, which Skye couldn't blame him. She probably looked equally as impressed.

"Impressive ship, Coulson." Jonathan said.

"I earned a little goodwill from Director Fury when I got hit right before the Battle of New York." Coulson replied.

Curiosity ran through Skye's head once more. "You took a bullet?" She asked him.

"Ish." Coulson answered as he began to walk towards to sofas. "An Asgardian stabbed me through the heart with a Chitauri Scepter."

He told the story as if it happened to a regular person at least once a week.

"The effect was similar." He continued. "Got a few weeks R&R and this plane. Had it completely refurbished. Studs up - Spared no expense."

"I have no trouble believing that." Jonathan said as he looked over the Bus again.

"Yeah, Agent Ward told me they sent you to Tahiti." Skye said.

"It's a magical place." Coulson said without a second thought.

Skye looked at him curiously as she went to place her water on the table. "You mentioned that."

"Here." Coulson said. He reached behind him and pulled out two small wooden objects. "Use a coaster."

Skye fixed Coulson with a quick annoyed glance, then turned to look back at Jonathan, who shrugged and placed his water on top of one of the coasters. Skye, although a bit annoyed, followed suit.

As the two assets to SHIELD did that, Coulson took a seat on one of the cushions. "Buckle up." He told them as he pulled a seatbelt from the cushions and swiftly clicked them together.

Skye quickly slid onto the other sofa with Jonathan sliding next to her.

"Where are we going?" Jonathan asked as he quickly clicked his seatbelt on.

"Peru," Coulson replied as the lights began to darken. "That's where the 0-8-4 was reported."

"And an 0-8-4 is...?" Skye wondered, her curiosity gnawing.

"An object of unknown origin." Came Coulson's reply. He turned to look at both Skye and Jonathan. "Kind of like the two of you."

Skye turned to look at Jonathan the same time he look at her, their expressions sharing the same wondering look.

"Team goes in," Coulson continued. "Determines if it's useful or if it poses a threat. Last one turned out to be pretty interesting."

"And what was the last one?" Skye wondered as she took a sip of her water.

Coulson met her eyes, smirk apparent. "A hammer." He answered.

 **Jonathan**

 **Llactapata, Peru**

A slick government facility crawling with uptight SHIELD Agents, full of monitors, gun stations and SHIELD embroidered water coolers. (He found they REALLY liked advertising themselves) That is where he mostly expected to be when he agreed to be an asset of SHIELD.

That probably sounded like some kind of government-racism on his part, but that is exactly what he thought of when he thought of joining SHIELD in any way, shape or form. Peru? That... was a bit off the beaten path. Peru certainly wasn't on his list of locations he though he would be when drafted by a secret government organization.

Yet there he was, driving through the lush green Peruvian jungles, in the back of a SHIELD embroidered Black SUV, along with Fitz-Simmons, Ward, May and Skye. SHIELD was surprising him in so many ways.

The drive was mostly silent on the way there (except for the occasional scientific chatter from Fitz-Simmons) and Jonathan couldn't really blame them. Like himself, they probably had most of their thoughts focused on the fact that, according to Coulson, they were approaching an artifact of unknown origin and power. An artifact that, for all they knew, had the power to level an entire city with a single word. If that wasn't enough to psych a person out even a little, Jonathan doubted anything would.

After a while, the Peruvian jungles gave way to a small clear patch of land, populated by small, put together houses, small pits of smoking cooking fires and an assortment of villagers going about their daily lives.

The white SUV ahead came to a stop as Coulson quickly stepped out, his eyes locked on the thick wall of jungle in front of them as he shut the door behind him.

The first thing to hit Jonathan as he stepped out of the car was the humidity. Beads of sweat immediatly peppered his forehead as waves of heat radiated and blasted the SHIELD team as they piled out. Multiple songs from multiple species of birds filled the air around them as the villagers looked at them in wonder.

Jonathan took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of wet soil and cooking fires. He had to admit, it was a pretty nice place. He certainly felt out of place though. He didn't know weather it involved his lost memories or the fact that he might have just been a city boy, but he certainly felt weird being surrounded by jungle and being in the middle of a village that looked like the cover of a National Geographic Magazine.

As he analyzed his surroundings, Ward spoke up from behind him. "Tire tracks forty meters back," He reported to the group. "I'll check them against the site's trucks, make sure we're alone."

To his own surprise, Jonathan found himself remembering that he noted tire tracks as well, almost automatically, before the SUV even stopped. He didn't remember even looking for them. Though a bit confused, Jonathan quickly brushed those thoughts to the side, mostly due to the fact that they were searching for what could be a pretty dangerous artifact and he'd rather have most of his wits about him when they found it.

"Too much exposure here," May said from the car. "I'm gonna find a place to park." With that, she slid back into the SUV, rolled the engine and reversed down the road, kicking a heavy dust cloud into the air.

Jonathan smirked. In the almost two days he had fully known both Ward and May, they had shown themselves to be the pure blooded soldiers of SHIELD, always thinking of tactics and ways out every situation. They were certainly proving themselves to be the left and right fist of the team, that was certain.

As Jonathan turned and began to follow Coulson through the jungle brush, Skye appeared at his side, her laptop case grasped firmly at her side.

After pushing through the thick jungle wall, Jonathan felt himself whistle in admiration. "Now there's something I didn't expect to see."

In front of him was a towering stone pyramid, overgrowth and cracks peppering the ancient complex. It held a cube like design that seemed to be the base of the long line of designs that seemed to run down each side of the structure. A large pair of steps stretched toward the complex and towards an opening at the base of the pyramid, no doubt the room of the artifact.

Jonathan felt a rush of adrenaline throughout his body. Mere moments away from him was an artifact of unknown origin and power, an artifact that may hold the power to, for all they knew, level the pyramid and kill them all in a single blast. A strange mix of fear and excitement ran through his nerves as he followed Coulson toward the pyramid.

"We should warn people who live around here if the 0-8-4 is dangerous," Skye said to Coulson as they pushed their way through the outstretched limbs of the plants. "They're already dealing with anti-mining rebels and the Shining Path Guerillas."

"She's right," Jonathan agreed. "If this 0-8-4 has a really contagious virus or if it's highly explosive, it could injure or kill a lot of innocent people. We need to warn the community about this."

"I could post something," Skye offered as they came into a clearing.

Coulson kept his eyes forward as he responded, "Remember the panic when that anti-matter meteor splashed down just off the coast of Miami, nearly devoured the city?"

Skye looked back at Jonathan, confusion in her eyes. Jonathan felt the same way. He may have been amnesiac, but he was pretty sure he would remember something like a meteor almost consuming a city.

"No." They both answered.

Coulson turned to them. "Precisely. Because we kept it quiet and contained."

Skye looked at Coulson incredulously. "So, what am I doing?"

"Well," Coulson began. "If it gets out, I might need you to create some kind of diversion, put the public on the wrong scent."

Jonathan heard a scoff escape from her. "So, everything I'm against." She replied.

"Yep." Coulson replied.

"And what exactly am I doing?" Jonathan asked.

"It's simple," Coulson said as he began to ascend the steps. "We need you to study the artifact, see if there's anything you can tell us about it. How to work it, how to disarm it. Anything you remember."

This time, Jonathan felt himself scoff. "So, you're getting me as close as possible to an unstable artifact to see if I remember anything about said artifact."

"That's the plan." Coulson replied.

Jonathan stopped and let out an audible sigh. If Coulson heard, he showed no sign as he continued up the steps. "SHIELD." He muttered in frustration under his breath.

"Tell me about it," Skye muttered beside him.

Regardless of how frustrated ethier of them felt, they each knew that SHIELD was trying a get a handle on this artifact for the greater good. They continued to follow Coulson up to the base of the temple and towards the opening.

As they reached the base, they found both Fitz and Simmons already on location (Were they taking a selfie?), equipment in hand and ready to go. Beside them was a middle-aged man dressed in light tan clothes.

Coulson spoke to him right away, "Good morning, professor." He said. "I'm Agent Coulson with SHIELD. I understand you made an interesting discovery."

The professor sighed. "I- I'm not sure how to explain it," He said in a heavy Spanish accent. "This temple dates back at least five-hundred years. It's filled with Pre-Incan artifacts. One of them is impossible, and it looks like it might be dangerous."

"Well," Coulson replied. "That's why we're here."

The professor nodded and made his way back through the entrance. Coulson looked back at Jonathan and the others and gave the signal to follow. As Jonathan made his way to the entrance, he felt a single painful throb inside his head. Instinctivlly, his hand shot to his head, but as fast as the pain came, it vanished. Jonathan frowned. What was that about?

As soon as Jonathan entered the room, he got a horror movie vibe just from the atmosphere. The room was lit by dying and flickering lights that did nothing except illuminate the cobwebs that surrounded them. Rays of sunlight pierced through the cracked ceiling and casted the heiroglyhs that peppered each side of the wall. The room was dead silent except for the crunch of the dirt as they fully made their way into the room.

"Watch out." The professor advised to them as they made their way in. He quickly made his way forward to the front wall of the room, where the artifact glowed with power.

It was attached to the wall, a slick metal object standing out against the decaying hyroglyphic walls. It glowed blue, power and light radiating from it's point in the wall as it's hum filled the room. There was little doubt in Jonathan's mind. They were face-to-face with their 0-8-4.

"Exactly as we found it." The professor said to the group as they intently studied the steel object.

After a moment, Coulson spoke, "Who else knows about this?" He asked.

"Just the Ministry," The man replied. "I believe they were the ones that contacted you."

Behind them, there were series of clicks and whirs. Jonathan turned to find Fitz and Simmons quickly setting up their equipment on the ground, they're hands flying across keyboards and tablets as their equipment came to life around them.

"Sir," Coulson said. "I need you and your team to evacuate the sight until we determine the risk associated with this object."

Before the man could answer, a small whirring drone hovered next to his face, surprising him.

"Leave the man alone." Simmons said from the back, smiling as her hands flew across her tablet.

All around the room, little drones began to take flight around them and head towards the artifact, gears whirring.

"Now," Coulson insisted to the man. "For your own safety." With that, the man turned and made a hasty retreat out.

"Nothing about this anywhere." Skye said excitedly, her face illuminated by the glow of her phone. "I searched every data stream. What do you got here guys?"

As Skye spoke, she began to approach the artifact, hand extending out towards it.

"Whoa," Fitz said. "Car- Uh, careful. I-I- No, wouldn't do that."

"The object's placement in fossilferous rock formations suggests it's been here for at least fifteen-hundred years," Simmons said in excitement. "That pre-dates this temple by a millennium. Ah, maybe it's alien!"

"Yeah," Fitz said. "But the shape and the craftsmenship," He looked up at the team. "It's almost German."

As Jonathan continued to study the metal artifact, he felt his head begin to throb once more. This time, instead of once and done, the throb continued painfully. His hands went to his head as he tried to push away the pain, but it did nothing. He quickly found himself on the floor, sweat running down his brow as his head ached and thrusted in pure agony. Through his pain, he noticed Skye at his side with Coulson looking over him, his face a mask from emotions. He held up his hand to keep Fitz and Simmons at their posts, much to their surprise.

"Jonathan? Jonathan!" Skye turned to Coulson. "What's wrong with him?"

"There's something about that artifact that he knows about," Coulson replied. "He's remembering." He turned to his team. "We have to let him remember."

Even with the immense pain, Jonathan felt glad that Coulson did that. He was in pain, yeah, but he knew he had to remember. Whatever he was remembering about the artifact, he knew he had to mentally keep it and tell the agents all he knew.

His thoughts were shattered when, through the pain and agony, he heard the voices. There were flashes against his eyes, reminding him of the flashes he experienced before the explosion that jarred him. Through his flashes, he saw things; he saw a table, a table with a hologram in the center. The hologram displayed a single object, a familer slick steel object. Sitting in a circle around the hologram were shadowy people, their faces darkened. They spoke in jumbled sentences around Jonathan, their sentences warping from very quiet to normal to very loud.

"...Weapon is powerful...Single most effective energy source... Make or break this organization... HYDRA can not know... Peru. No survivors. Dismissed."

As the shadows dispersed, Jonathan watched himself move toward the hologram and study it. The artifact was surrounded by unreadable info boxes, but there was one thing that stood out to him the most: in the hologram of the artifact floated the symbol that caused fear to course through Jonathan, the skull with tentacles sprouting from it's sides. It was the same symbol as before. The hologram molded as he touched it, showing the artifact release a wave of energy, along with a solid beam. Before he could even process it, the hologram dissapated as a garbled voice called out, "Jonathan! Let's move!"

The room callapsed around him as the world funneled around him. He heard the voices speak up once more as he felt conciousness coming back to him. "The team was discovered...Tortured and killed like animals... They suspect all of us now...Destroy the evidence... Down a different route... Jonathan," The last voice caused a pang of pain through his chest. He wasn't sure why.

"Jonathan," The voice said in an almost pleading tone. "You know what you have to do."

In one instant, all of it stopped and he felt his blood rush as his eye's shot open. He found himself on the floor, his eyes focused on the ceiling above him. He was now drenched with sweat and every muscle in his body felt immensely sore. He groaned and immediatly caught the attention of the team.

"Jonathan?" Skye asked from his side. "Are you okay?"

Jonathan looked at the team around him. "Ouch." He groaned.

 **Ward**

Ward approached the temple at a cautious steady pace. He knew about the inserructions that Peru was experiencing and he knew this was not a place that one can let their guard down in. His thoughts ran through his head as the professor quickly passed him by as he neared the steps of the temple.

There he found Agent May, standing guard outside the door, her arms and fists clenched and her determined eyes focusing on every little thing in her enviornment.

"Tires match the prof's truck," He reported as her gaze immeidatly fixated on him. He pointed to her hip. "Where's your sidearm?"

"If I need a gun, I'll take one." She answered matter-of-factly.

"Right," Ward said. "Forgot I was working with the Cavalry."

May immediatly turned to him, glaring and angry. "Don't ever call me that." She growled.

Ward put up his hands in surrender. "Apologies," He said. "I heard the stories. What went down in Bahrain and you in action. You know, it was smart of Coulson to pull you out of retirement." He wondered if she heard the twig snaps, the leaves brush, same as him. He began to back up towards the brush. "It's nice to have a trusted friend who has your back."

Ward's arm shot into the bushes and, with all of his strength, he flipped the camoflauged soldier out into the open.

May's eyes locked on the soldier and turned just in time to catch the gun of another soldier coming up from her side. She quickly pulled the soldier out of his point of advantage and flipped him. He landed back first on the ground and let out a grunt of pain. As Ward fought the soldier, May had caught one of the other soldiers, quickly delivered a shoulder to the man's chest and threw him to the ground, the two soldiers pistols now in her hands, pointed at the two downed men.

As Ward secured the soldier he downed, he heard the roar of car engines quickly coming down the path. A tan SUV tore out from the jungle, followed by multiple squads of armed soldiers. Soon, Ward and May were completely surrounded.

Ward quickly took a soldier in a chokehold and pressed a gun against his head as May readied her dual pistols for battle. He turned to her. "Should have taken more guns." He told her.

 **Jonathan**

"HYDRA weapon," Coulson said again, looking closely at the artifact again.

"It makes sense." Fitz said. "This would explain why it's German in design and powered by this energy."

"Are you sure this wasn't HYDRA followers trying to get their weapon back?" Simmons asked Jonathan.

"No," Jonathan said while leaning against the wall, trying to regain his bearings. "That wouldn't make sense with what I saw. Why would they say that 'HYDRA can't know' if they were HYDRA?"

"Regardless," Skye said. "If parties are hunting for this, like Jonathan saw, we have to get it out of here."

Their discussion was interrupted by a crackle of the communicator, "Sir?" The voice of Ward broke through.

Coulson's hand went to his jacket, pulled out his communicator and brought it up. "Go." He said.

"We have a situation." Ward reported.

Skye turned to Coulson, worry in her eyes. "Lots of rebels in this area." She said.

"Not enough gunfire," Coulson replied. He turned to the team. "Keep working." He brought up his communicator as he walked towards the entrance. "I'm on my way."

Jonathan let out a sigh and pressed the back of his head against the cool wall of structure. Every section of his body felt like it had its own version of the flu. He felt terrible, but at the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about what he saw. The table, the people, the soft voice. What did it all mean? What were these memories from? Unfortunately for him, he had more questions then answers.

As he ran this through his head, his thoughts were interuppted by Skye's voice, "How are you holding up?" She was leaning against the wall, her eyes on Jonathan, concern visible.

"I'm holding up," He groaned. "You know, considering."

She smirked. "You definitely have one of the craziest cases of amnesia I've ever heard of."

"I've noticed." He replied.

She smiled, then her expression turned more serious. "So, all these flashes of information and images you've been getting, all these rooms and people you've been seeing," She turned to him. "What do you think it all means?"

Jonathan took a moment to run it all back in his mind; the table, the shadow people, everything they said. After a moment, he let out a sigh of frustration. "I wish I could tell you," He said to her. "I wish I knew."

Skye pursed her lips, thinking, but before she could speak anymore, a device let out a loud beep from Fitz and Simmons little bunker.

"Are you seeing this?" Fitz asked his fellow scientist. "It's alive."

"Wha-" Skye turned to the artifact and quickly turned to the Fitz-Simmons. "Alive alive?"

"It has a functioning power source." Came Fitz's reply.

"Sleepy's reading radionuclides," Simmons chipped in. "But they don't match any known isotope."

Fitz looked down at his tablet. "I get temporal matches, but even then, they seem to shift." He turned to Simmons in excitement. "Is that even possible?"

"Depends on the shifting of the temporal radio stuff," Skye replied. "So..."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Fitz and Simmons stared at Skye in confusion. "Totally weird right?" She said. The awl award silence remained. She cleared her throat. "I'm just going to..."

She quickly moved to the back of the structure, avoiding eye contact with the two SHIELD scientists. Jonathan let out a chuckle at the situation.

As she came near him, Jonathan gave her thumbs up, mouthing "Good try."

"Shut up," She mouthed back.

"Jonathan snorted, then turn back to Fitz and Simmons. "Are you guys saying that this artifact is sentient?"

"Not sentient," Fitz replied. "It can't think, but I think it can... feel."

"We believed you when you said it could be an energy weapon of some kind," Simmons said. "But we never imagined anything like this, an object with so much energy, it has the capacity to feel."

Before Jonathan could reply, Ward entered the room. "We've got company," He reported to the room. "National Police."

"What?" Simmons asked.

"What are they doing here?" Fitz demanded, looking back at the entrance.

"They heard about this object," Ward said. "They're probably here to protect it. This area has lots of rebel uprisings."

"Yeah," Skye replied. "People are fighting back against the governments mining policies." She turned to Jonathan, Fitz and Simmons. "It's pretty kick-ass."

Ward turned to her, anger apparent on his face. "Yeah, its kick-ass, all the violence."

Skye turned back to him. "That's not what I'm saying."

"No," Ward growled. "It's what your typing. In your van, alone- where it's safe."

"Ward," Jonathan said. "There was no reason to-"

Ward turned to him. "I don't know if you remember, Jonathan, but you should stay out of other people's business."

Jonathan fixed him with a glare, his fists clenched with anger. Ward was really starting to piss him off.

Ward turned to Fitz and Simmons. "How much longer?" He asked.

They both sighed in exasperation. "What's the hurry?" Simmons asked.

"Are we in danger?" Fitz demanded.

"Not if everyone does their job." Ward replied. He turned to both Skye and Jonathan. "What are both of yours, exactly?"

"What the hell is your problem, Ward?" Jonathan demanded. "Why do you hate half of the team?!"

"I don't hate the team," Ward said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's just you two unknowns who Coulson decided to pick up off the street like a couple of lost puppies. You two can't be trusted and I don't know why he let ethier of you on, assets or otherwise."

Jonathan came to a weak stand as he faced Ward. "We put our lives on the line last mission, same as you, Ward. We fought to save those innocent people, same as you. We stuck around on this team because we want to stop any powerful dangers that threaten any city or person, same... as... you. We are not sticking around for shits and giggles, Ward. We're here to help."

Ward glared down on him, anger flickering through his eyes. That's was fine. Jonathan was willing to stand his ground against him.

Before Ward could respond, the temple shook violently, the sounds of gunfire and explosions erupting around them.

Jonathan's hand immediately went to his pistol and drew it before he even knew what he was doing. He felt his senses heighten as his hands tightened around the guns grip.

"Sounds like they're engaging the rebels," Ward said beside him, weapon also drawn. "Let's go."

"Cover the entrance," Jonathan felt himself say. "I'll provide support fire if they start flanking the entrance from the sides." Where the hell is this coming from? He asked himself in surprise as he and Ward covered the entrance.

Around them, the drones began to pull back towards Fitz and Simmons as the two scientists started to quickly pack up their equipment.

Jonathan watched as Skye tried to assist the two, but was quickly dismissed.

"No," He heard Fitz say. "No, no, no, no, no."

"It doesn't matter." He heard Skye plea to him.

"It does to me!" Came his fierce response.

"Please," Simmons said. "Let us do this." She turned to Ward. "We need a containment case for the 0-8-4!"

"There's no time." Ward explained to her.

"But it has a fluctuating power core," Fitz responded. "Frequencies way above ten exahertz."

Another explosion rocked the structure, causing more dust to settle upon the team.

"This structure is ancient." Jonathan said to them. "It isn't going to hold much longer."

Ward turned and quickly made his way to the wall. "Sorry," He said. "Science class is over."

The team watched in shock as Ward placed both hands on the artifact and began to violently pull.

Fitz immediately shot up. "Whoa!" He shouted in surprise as Ward gave the artifact one last pull and ripped it from the wall as it cracked and crumbled.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, wait!" Fitz demanded as he rushed toward him. "You did not just pull that out of the wall. What is the matter with you?! Do you realize we do not know the amount of photon emissions coming out of this-"

He was cut off as Ward grabbed him and quickly placed the bag containing the 0-8-4 on his back.

"Okay," Fitz said. "But we don't know what will happen if it gets excited."

Ward turned to the team. "Stay close." He called out as he made his way to the entrance.

Jonathan quickly made his way up the steps after Ward, pistol drawn, as the rest of the team followed behind.

As they got closer and closer to entrance, the sound of automatic fire started to get louder and more apparent until they fully entered the outside.

The village was now a war zone. All around them, gunfire chattered and explosions roared as the police and the militia clashed. Already bodies from both sides were on the ground, unmoving. The battle was in full swing.

"Where the hell is Coulson?!" Jonathan yelled over the noise.

"Coulson can take care of himself!" Ward yelled back. "Right now, we need to worry about ourselves!" He turned to the team behind them. "Get back!"

Around the team, the wall began to chip and crack as gunfire swung towards them.

Ward and Jonathan both crouched and quickly returned fire as the rest of the team took cover at the entrance.

Jonathan felt like he should have been scared out of his mind, but a strange calm come over him as he carefully took aim at the attacking militia forces.

He felt the pistol buck in his hands as he fired at a militant hidden in the bushes. The militant let out a sudden pained yell, then slumped to the ground, still.

Before he could even process what he did, he felt himself turn to a rapidly advancing militant and let out three rapid shots. The militant was thrown back violently and fell to the ground with a hard thud.

They have been picking off a few militants here and there, but as the gunfire around them intensified, Jonathan knew that the full force was inbound. They were about to be overrun.

As these thoughts ran through his head, he heard the sound of metal extending.

He turned to see Ward holding a strange metal pole of sorts in his hand.

He turned to Jonathan. "Get down." He commanded.

Jonathan may not have really liked the guy, but he knew that that command was serious.

Jonathan fell to his chest as a Spanish call went out. All around him, the police mimicked him as they all hit the ground chest first.

Once every soldier was in cover, Ward quickly combat rolled over the steps and to the ground, slamming the metal pole down on the soil. There was an electronic whirr as a small glowing cylinder popped out of the top of the pole, hovered in the air for a split second, and unleashed a massive blue energy wave across the battlefield.

The blue energy quickly spread, violently knocking the remaining militants back and on the ground.

As the wave dissipated, Jonathan quickly shot up to a standing position. "Fancy," He quipped. "But that's not going to hold them back for very long, Ward. We need to move."

"I know." Ward said as he quickly tossed the spent pole to the side. He waved his hand forward and the team advanced, moving down the steps.

Before they could even begin to run, Jonathan heard the almost sickening click of an automatic rifle. He looked just in time to see a militiaman, his rifle aimed at Skye, Fitz and Simmons.

Jonathan felt his blood run cold as he stared at the rifle. There was no time to react. They were dead.

Just as the militiaman pulled the trigger, there was a roar of a car engine as the black SUV pulled in front of them in a flash, bullets panging off the bullet proof windows.

"Get in! Get in!" Ward called out as more bullets began to impact the car.

The passenger door swung open, revealing Agent May at the driver's seat. "Move!" She commanded. "Now!"

"Now that's a good idea!" Fitz called out as he, Simmons and Skye quickly rushed into the car.

As soon as they were all in, Jonathan quickly jumped in as well, closing and locking the door behind him.

The wheels of the SUV violently rolled as they took off, rushing through the burning village and out towards the jungle.

A green pickup truck quickly pulled into the path behind them, a squad of police in the back.

"Coulson's secure in PMP's truck," Jonathan heard Ward report to May. "Take the south route to the airfield."

"Gotcha." May confirmed.

As they began to plow through the Peruvian jungle, automatic tracer fire began to pepper the plants around them. Jonathan turned back to see a militia vehicle pursuing the two cars, a mounted turret spraying gunfire at them.

The speed of the SUV began to steadily increase, causing it to begin to violently bump against the road as it quickly sped toward the airstrip.

"Slow down!" Fitz called out to May.

Skye turned to him. "You're joking, right?" She asked incredulously.

"Ward, listen!" Fitz continued, ignoring Skye. "We have to be careful. There's a binding energy structure that could overheat!"

"How do we keep it from overheating?" Jonathan demanded.

"I could roll down a window!" Simmons suggested.

As she began to roll the left side window down, they were met by the pang and ricocheting of bullets against the car, causing everyone to duck.

"Do not roll down a window!" Skye demanded.

"Yeah, that's definitely something we're not doing again!" Jonathan agreed.

"Stay quiet and keep your heads down." Ward commanded. He turned back to May. "Head left. The ravine empties."

A barrage of gunfire was heard behind them once more as the police opened fire on the militia vehicle once more.

"But, Ward!" Fitz called out again.

Both Ward and May whirled back to face him. "Quiet!" They both yelled in union. May's hand quickly went to the screen in the middle of the console and quickly began pressing symbols.

Jonathan felt himself begin to bite down on his lower lip painfully. This was insane. He expected a dangerous artifact, but he never thought it could end up putting him in the middle of a gunfight. Again, he should have been terrified, like any normal person would, but he felt calm. Calm and prepared, almost like it happened all the time. Who the hell was he?

"How fast can you have wheels up?" Ward asked May in the front.

"Fast." May replied.

Finally, the Bus came into full view, it's ramp open and waiting as May quickly screeched into the hanger and braked.

As they all poured out of the car, May turned to Ward. "Ramp!" She called out.

Ward nodded. "On it." He said as he quickly moved to the ramps control panel.

As soon as he left the car, Jonathan found himself quickly covering Fitz, Simmons and Skye as they made their way to the fortified lab. He kept his pistol trained at the jungle, waiting for the incoming militia men. He kept mentally questioning himself, wondering why he knew and did these soldier like tactics. He didn't remember them at all, but is muscle memory said differently. His muscles were tightened, he knew exactly how to use his gun, knew exactly which stance or position to take. He was beginning to freak himself out.

"What are you doing?!" He heard Skye demand at Ward as he began working the ramp controls. "Coulson is still out there!"

Ward quickly pressed a few more buttons, then approached Skye and moved her toward the lab. "Get off the ramp," He commanded. "You're in the line of fire."

As soon as the truck came to its full stop, Coulson and a woman dressed in police commander garb began their sprint towards the ships ramp as the police forces quickly opened fire down the road as they backed towards the ramp.

The jungle parted violently as the militia vehicle came crashing through the brush, gunfire chattering as the militia men jumped out and began firing on both the police and the Bus.

Jonathan quickly began returning fire as the bullets began to pang off the SUV he was using as cover. He fired shot after shot towards the militia forces, effectively scattering them as they searched for cover and dropped under the assault of Jonathan, Ward and the police forces.

Coulson and the police commander quickly ascended the rising ramp, followed closely by the surviving police forces as they continued to exchange gunfire with the Militia.

As the last of the police entered the hanger, Jonathan quickly found himself pulling back as well. He fired off two more shots at the Militia just as the ramp came to a full close in front of him, hissing as it locked in place once more.

Almost immediately, he felt himself collapse on the ground in pure exhaustion, sweat drenching the front of his shirt as he laid back first on the cold hanger floor. His arms and legs ached in pain and adrenaline.

"Cut it pretty close, sir." He heard Ward tell Coulson.

"Didn't want to leave anyone behind." Coulson replied.

He let loose a big sigh as he finally caught his breath again (He didn't even know he was holding his breath). "Well," He breathed out. "That was a hell of an experience."

Skye nodded. "I got to say it." She gasped out. "I miss my van."

"Now," Ward turned to Fitz. "What was the problem?"

"As I said before," Fitz breathed out. "This device has a high-frequency, fluctuating, sub-material compression-"

"Fitz," Ward interrupted. "In English."

Fitz sighed. "The 0-8-4 is fueled by Tesseract Technology. HYDRA. World War Two. Captain America. It's full of lethal amounts of Gamma Radiation."

Jonathan felt his blood freeze at that mention. Gamma Radiation? The same that made... He felt his eyes go to the artifact, his fists clenched nervously.

"Gamma," Ward said. "So you're saying it's nuclear?"

"No," Coulson answered, his eyes going to the entire team. "He's saying it's much, much worse."

Like Jonathan, all their eyes immediately went to the artifact, hidden inside the backpack it was shoved into. Everyone took a singular step back.

Their mission was to transport the artifact to a SHIELD base. It sounded easy enough on paper. Now, they had all begun to realize that they were on a plane with a highly sensitive mini Gamma-bomb. The mission had just become trickier.

 **Next Chapter:** **Trapped on a plan with a gamma-bomb, the team tries to rapidly deliver it, only to have an insseruction make the situation all the more difficult.**


	5. Chapter 5: Insurrection

**Author's Note:** _Two all nighters. Literally couldn't stop writing. Also, some people are wondering when we get to see full Jonathan/Skye relationship. I will say that it won't happen instantly, as I'm a fan of a gradual building relationship. I hope you enjoy! Follow and Favorite and Review! (This chapter will count as the second October chapter. Expect two more this month. Let's keep this train rolling!) EXTRA long chapter this time! Happy Halloween! NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Four: Insurrection (Near the end of S1, E2)  
**

 **Skye**

An explosive gunfight over an alien artifact in the backdrop of an ancient pyramid. She had to say, out of everything she expected when working as an asset for a government spy agency, an agency that was supposed to be shrouded in secrecy, that was definitely one of the last things she expected.

Well, she had expected gunfights, it was SHIELD after all, but definitely not to the magnitude that made her ears ring with the sound of a constant high-pitched opera singer and her body ache like one large muscle spasm.

However much her body ached from the shock of the battle, she found she was able to ignore it in favor the more pressing matter; the matter that she was currently in the same room as a mini gamma bomb that could detonate to the sound of a pin dropping. That was a rather important factor that Skye found she had trouble putting to the side.

"Not to worry," Simmons said nervously to her as she placed the dust-covered backpack on the, revealing the glowing artifact. "The device is stable. Not that it couldn't explode at any minute, especially with machine-gun fire."

As it's hum began resonating throughout the lab, Skye felt herself begin to chew her fingernail nervously. Just looking at the hyper sensitive mega bomb filled Skye with a sense of stress and worry.

"Wow," Jonathan said next to Skye, equally as nervous as he eyed the 0-8-4. "Reassurance is REALLY not a strong suit of you and Fitz, is it?"

Simmons let out a nervous chuckle. "It's certainly not, but we are trying, especially in the light of our current situation." She let out a shaky sigh. "But, things like this happen from time to time when in the field, and at first, it's very unpleasant and you regret your decision to leave the lab at all." She took another breath and leaned against the table behind her, visibly shaken.

Skye studied her with interest. She was nervous as hell, yeah, but she really didn't expect Simmons to be just as (or maybe even more) nervous then she was, especially if she had done something like this before. Unless...

As Skye stewed her thoughts, the door behind her hissed open as Ward angrily stalked into the lab, followed by an equally angry and frustrated Fitz.

"Are you mental?!" Fitz angrily demanded at Ward as they neared the rest of the group. "I did explain in great detail exactly what I meant, using the Queen's bloody English!"

"I use _normal_ English," Ward snapped back as Fitz crossed in front of him. "Words like 'duck' and 'run' and 'might blow us to pieces'".

"Oh wow," Fitz replied in utter exasperation as he grabbed a mechanical device from the table and powered it up. "Wow. Well, congratulations Agent Ward. You managed to string three words together in a sentence."

As Ward and Fitz continued their heated argument, Skye began to focus on them. The way they were arguing was starting to confirm Skye's suspicions about the team. They argued like newcomers to a group setting with each other, their personalities and beliefs clashing for the first time, almost like it WAS their first time together.

Biting her lip nervously, she turned to Jonathan, who also watched the argument with interest. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" She asked him.

Jonathan continued to stare at the argument, then turned to her. "An elite agency team arguing and fighting each other like it's their first day on the job with each other?"

"That's the thing," Skye replied to him. "I think this IS their first time working together."

Jonathan turned to her, a look of confusion on his face. Before he got a chance to reply, an audible hiss broke through Ward and Fitz yelling, catching Skye's attention. She turned to see Coulson entering the room, his unreadable expression locked on the two bickering SHIELD employees.

The commander of the agents advanced to the front of Ward and Fitz, undeterred by their yelling. "Do we have a problem in here?" He asked, effectively cutting off the argument completely.

After a moment of silence, Ward spoke. "No, sir," He replied. "Just working on our communication. Not everyone was prepared for a gunfight."

 _That's an understatement,_ Skye thought to herself.

Coulson looked over them, his expression showing no hint of his thoughts (How the hell did he do that?). "We got out, we didn't lose anyone, saved a few of theirs. I'd say we did all right. Anything else?"

Skye's hand raised immediately. She felt all eyes go to her as she began to speak, "Uh, yeah. I have a small question. Because we," She motioned to Jonathan. "Have been feeling like the tagalong hayseed rookies, but now I get the sense that Ward doesn't know which one's Simmons and which one's Fitz, and they've seen even less gunfire then me and, I'm no rocket scientist, but," She looked over the team. "Is this your first mission together?"

"No," Came Simmons immediate response. "Of course not. It's our second."

Skye took a moment to fully process what she just heard. "We were your first?" She muttered as she nodded her head in what she could only describe as utter disbelief. "That's sweet."

"You're amused?" Ward growled.

She turned to him. "I'm terrified," She angrily clarified to him. "I am in way over my head, but I have been on this team just as long as any of you." She threw up her hands. "I might as well be team captain."

She was met with an uncomfortable silence as the team turned to her, their expressions a mix of confusion and wonder, no doubt wondering if she was being serious. "I was joking," She quickly said. She leaned towards Coulson. "But maybe that's not a bad idea, because these guys do NOT like each other much."

"Try not at all," Jonathan said. "I'm pretty sure half of this team would rather do this mission without any contact or visual of the other half whatsoever."

"This isn't about that," Ward said angrily. He turned to Coulson. "I am a specialist. Today, I could have eliminated the enemy threat myself if I was working alone, but I had non-combat-ready agents-"

"Whoa, whoa. Wait." Fitz interrupted angrily. "You work alone?"

"So typical." Simmons chimed in as she stormed towards Ward and Fitz.

Frustration growing, Skye turned to Jonathan. "Here we go." She muttered to him as she rounded the table towards Coulson.

"Who do you think designs your equipment?" Simmons demanded angrily at Ward.

"Or the polymers for your weaponry?" Fitz asked. He pointed to Simmons and himself. "People like us do it."

"Trying going into the field with just your bare bum." Simmons said.

Skye turned to Coulson. "See them proving the point I just made?" She asked him.

After a moment, Coulson looked back at her. "You're not wrong," He stated. He turned to the team. "We still need to iron out the kinks. But, Ward, you can speak six languages. Simmons, you have two PhDs in fields I can't pronounce. Jonathan, you have more intel in your head then most of our databases. And Fitz, you _are_ a rocket scientist." He looked over all of them one more time. "So work it out."

Bewilderment ran through Skye as Coulson turned and made his way out of the lab. "I-I'm good at stuff, too." She called after him as the doors closed, a hiss echoing through the room as they sealed, leaving the team to their thoughts.

 **Jonathan**

In the aftermath of the wonderful team meeting they just had, Jonathan knew that he needed two things: A place to sit down and roll through the thoughts knocking around in his head, and a drink to stabilize those thoughts. Unfortunately for him, the Peruvian soldiers were making those tasks really difficult.

When people think of drunk military forces at bar, most people would think as a great time. Movies and books always showed the soldiers laughing and kidding around. It seemed like it would be an all around good time. Jonathan didn't see it that way.

They all seemed to be happy and good people, but not only did they all cramp around the once empty bar and the couches, giving him little to no breathing room to process what happened throughout the day, some of them fixed him with a certain type of expression on their faces. Expressions that Jonathan swore almost looked liked they were sizing him up.

He had no doubt in his mind that if he were express his feelings about the soldiers, people would peg him as a thousand types of judgemental, but it didn't matter if Jonathan was imagining their expressions or not, they just made him feel overall uncomfortable.

Regardless, Jonathan pushed those thoughts away as he moved to find a quiet area away from the overall rowdiness and cheers. He still needed a place to think, mostly about the fact that the team that he was working alongside were all rookies around each other, unfamilier with each other's personality's and wants. He could safely assume he spoke for both Skye and himself when he said that it was not exactly a boost of confidence for the team when you find out that the members literally barely know each other.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, there was only one couch that was a good distance away from the soldiers, and that couch was occupied by the one agent that he really didn't want to see.

Agent Ward's gaze shot from his book in an instant, his eyes a mix of anger and concentration, and quickly locked onto Jonathan as he neared the couch. After a moment, his eyes went back to his book as he let out as let out a frustrated sigh.

"This is a big plane," Ward said, not taking his eyes off his book. "I'm pretty sure you can find somewhere else to sit."

"Trust me," Jonathan replied. "I'm not throwing myself at every opportunity to be in your company, Ward. If there was anywhere else to sit, I'd be there."

He saw Ward's eyes move from the book to the soldiers bustling and talking by the bar. "What? Too proud to sit with the soldiers?"

"It's not about pride." Jonathan angrily replied. "I just... Need a moment to run through the thoughts in my head in peace. I just need a place, away from all the noise, to actually think."

Ward snorted in derision. "The amnesiac needs time to think." He said in a mocking tone. "Think about what? The air in your empty head?"

Jonathan felt his fists clench painfully as anger coursed through him. This agent was really starting to painfully pluck at every nerve he had.

"No," Jonathan said. "I need time to think about and process everything that has happened today, particularly the part where I learned that the SHIELD team I had been tagging along with had more experience fighting with each other then anything else."

These words hit Ward's nerves stronger then Jonathan would have imagined. Ward immediatly put his book to the side and fixed with Jonathan with one of his signature glares. "There wouldn't _be_ all this arguing if Coulson had let me go in alone, take out the enemy by myself, like I was trained to do, and secure the 0-8-4 on my own! There is no use for this team on ground combat at all. Coulson could just give me the intel and I could secure the position on my own."

Jonathan was in disbelief. Did Ward really think that he could accomplish anything and everything by himself? "Jesus Christ, fall of your ten story castle already, Ward!" He exclaimed. "I don't care how trained you think you are, you can not do every mission on your own! You may be a self-proclaimed specalized agent, but that doesn't mean you have the potential to one-man army every mission out there."

"Without the extra people, I would have easily been able to-"

"Probably explode." Jonathan interuppted. At Ward's look of confusion, he continued. "Nethier Fitz or Simmons knew that the 0-8-4 was a very sensitive explosive until they got a chance to thorughly examine it on the ground. If you had gone alone, I have little doubt that you would have blown yourself up on the way back to the plane. Which one of your many skills would have prevented that?"

Ward went silent, but kept his glare on Jonathan. That was fine. Jonathan could handle his glare.

"You can call yourself an elite soldier all you want, Ward, but at the end of the day, not every mission can be done by you and you alone. The faster you learn to work with and alongside others, the faster we can start saving more people."

To Jonathan's surprise, Ward didn't immediatly reply. In fact, he seemed to actually think about and consider what Jonathan had just said. After a moment, Ward looked up at him, glare never dropping from his expression. "On some levels, you may be right." Came his reply. " _Some._ But don't act like you know this team and SHIELD inside and out. You barely know any of us. You're a complete unknown to this team and, most importantly, you are NOT an agent. You don't know what's better for this team. So stop acting like you do."

Jonathan actually felt his blood boil with anger and frustration. He was pretty sure he had never met someone so stubborn and angering (If he had ever met anyone worse then Ward in his past, he would actually begin to appreciate his amnesia.) Just before he unleashed a torrent of shouts and curses on the Agent, a familier voice broke through the fog of anger in his head.

"Hey, you got Ward to admit you were right. Frankly, I'd take that as a pretty big win."

Jonathan turned to see Skye making her way towards them, an alcohal bottle in hand. She came to a stop near the edge of the couch and looked them both over with curiosity, almost like she was trying to get a feel on how to go about this conversation.

After a moment, she turned to Ward, nodding towards his book. " _Hunger Games_?"

" _Matterhorn_." Ward replied without even looking up. "One of a hundred books my S.O. gave me that I'm just getting around to."

Jonathan gave a questioning look to her at the same time she gave him one. Seeing that both of them didn't know, Skye turned to Ward. "S.O?" She asked.

Ward looked up at both of them. "S.O. Supervising Officer."

Skye nodded. "Got it," She replied. "Hackers have lingo, too, but I'll pick yours up."

Jonathan snorted. "That's if he even trusts us enough to let us pick up on it."

As Ward fixed him with another glare, Skye spoke up, "Let's put the bickering on hold for a minute," She said. She turned to Ward. "I feel like you and us- wrong foot." She turned to both Jonathan and Ward. "Can we..." She held up the bottle. "Talk it out over drinks?"

Jonathan and Ward both turned to each other. A small part of him expected Ward to say no and just go back to his book, but, to his surprise, he and Ward both chuckled a little. They may not have liked each other much, but who were they to deny a couple of drinks.

He had to give it to Skye, for someone who didn't really know ethier of them, she really knew how to easily and properly defuse a situation.

Both Jonathan and Ward eagerly sat up towards the table as Skye circled around the side and took a seat next to Jonathan.

"What I said before," Skye said as she began to remove the bottle lid. "When I said the Uprising was, whatever I said, a good thing." She looked up at both of them. "I don't want you guys to think I'm oblivious. What I was talking about was the tweets."

"Tweets?" Jonathan asked, a bit incredulously.

"Tweets," Ward repeated, a bit more solemnly. He snorted. "You trying to make things better or worse?"

Skye turned to Ward. "Peruvians have organized for the first time in DECADES," She said to him. "Thousands of suffering people who have never met uniting under a common idea?"

Jonathan found himself marveling at the thought of that. Just the pure thought of all thousands of people, finding a common cause that they could put aside all of their differences to complete. It sounded like an unthinkable possiblity, but that's what was happening in Peru at this very moment.

"It sounds incredible." Jonathan replied.

Skye turned to him, smile evident. "It's mind-boggling." She agreed as she began to pour the drinks. " And I don't want to bring this up, because I don't want to see Ward's hate face," She looked back at Ward just in time to see him frown at her. She quickly turned back to Jonathan. "But that's what the Rising Tide is all about."

Ward let out a slight nod. "Okay," He replied.

"Usually," Skye continued. "One person doesn't have the solution. But, one-hundred people with one percent of the solution?"

Jonathan was shocked on how easily it felt to embrace Skye's belief. It just seemed so (and at the same time, too) natrual to him. "With all those people working together, you can have the solution to pretty much any problem."

Skye smiled at Jonathan. "That'll get it done." She looked down for a brief moment and looked back at them. "I think that's beautiful, pieces solving a puzzle."

Ward went uncharastically silent. He stared at them with a thoughtful expression. Jonathan was surprised. Was he actually listining and considering what they were saying?

After a brief moment of silence, Ward sighed and leaned forward. "You and I see the world differently is all." Ward said.

Skye let out a small sigh. "I've never been in a war zone during a war until today," She said. "That was crazy."

Jonathan kind of wished he could have the same kind of reaction. But based on what happened during the fighting, he started to consider that maybe that hadn't been the first time he stepped into a war zone. In fact, based on his reactions, he started to consider that there was multiple instances of him fighting in war zones, which scared the hell out of him. Whatever he was in the past, he had a feeling he certainly wasn't a peacekeeper.

"I take it you've seen that a lot," Skye said to Ward.

Ward sighed and lifted his drink. His eyes were laced with the look of pure pain and regret that only a soldier of war would carry. It shocked Jonathan to the core. He couldn't even imagine what Ward had done and been through, being the specalized one-man army he claimed he was. But that shock was quickly replaced as Ward leaned forward to place his drink on the table. On the side of his shirt, a red stain immediatly caught both asset's attention.

"What the hell?" Jonathan exclaimed. "Ward, did you get shot?"

Ward turned to look at his side and scowled in annoyance. "Skin-deep. Nothing to worry about."

"You got shot," Skye exclaimed as well. She leaned forward. "Did that happen protecting us?"

Ward looked up at her. "Said don't worry about it." He told both of them.

Skye scoffed. "Well, no wonder why he's so pissed."

"It makes sense," Jonathan concured. "I'd be pretty pissed too if I had a bullet hit me."

Ward's expression tightened a little. "I wasn't pissed." He let out a sigh. "I was trained to be the whole solution, to eliminate variables. And today..." His eyes moved to the side of the room. "They just keep adding up."

Confused, Jonathan followed the agent's gaze. At the edge of the room, two Peruvian soldiers sat at the table, shuffling cards absent-mindly. As Jonathan stared in confusion, wondering why Ward labled them as variables, one of the soldiers met his eyes. Immediatly, Jonathan felt every muscle in his body tighten and every nerve heighten. It was like his entire body was letting out a very large "Uh-Oh". The soldier quickly returned his eyes back to the cards as Jonathan turned back to the table, his body still on high alert. _What was that all about,_ Jonathan thought.

As he thought, the plane began a noticable shift in the other direction. He looked up at Ward. "Are we turning?"

Skye turned back at him. "I think we are."

They both looked back at Ward. "We've entered restricted airspace," Ward explained. "So we have to follow certain flight paths. Regulation. This plane is capable fully automated flight, but May has to be on the stick herself tonight."

Beside Jonathan, Skye scoffed. "You've got an S.O. May's got to be on the stick." She laughed and turned to Jonathan. "Lot's of good lingo on this plane."

As Jonathan chuckled, Ward smirked. "Yeah," He replied. He looked up at them. "We just can't seem to understand each other."

"Well," Jonathan replied after a moment. "I have to say, we're understanding each pretty well right now." He chuckled. "For our first time really sitting down and talking to each other, I think things are going pretty well."

Skye and Ward both smiled and nodded, which uplifted Jonathan. For the first time since he reboarded the Bus, he actually felt hope for the team. Maybe they could actually learn to work together after all.

 **Coulson**

"First walkie-talkie wristwatch," Coulson said as he proudly showed off the antique to Camilla, who looked on with interest. "1936, Poland." He handed it to her. "They only made twenty, I think. Still works."

She examined and turned it in her hands before returning it, nodding slightly in appreciation. "I forgot you're such a sentimentalist, Phillip." She said in an amused tone.

Coulson chuckled to himself. She certainly wasn't wrong.

"Romanticizing history," She said as she rounded his desk toward his shelved collection. She reached her hand out to examine one of them.

"Yeah," Coulson said as she struggled a little to lift it. "Most of it's glued down."

Camilla looked back at him, her expression showing that she kind of expected this, which didn't surprise Coulson. After all, she was one of the few people that knew Coulson, inside and out.

"There was an elegance to things back then," Coulson said as he reattached the walkie-talkie wristwatch with caution and care.

Camilla scoffed. "There we agree." She said as she walked past him.

"With everything around us changing so quickly," He turned to her, leaning against his desk. "It doesn't hurt to have a few touchstones to the past. Reminds me what's important."

Camilla reached the doorway, stopped and turned towards Coulson, a michivous look in her eyes. "The last thing I want to do is relive days gone by." She reached out and closed the door behind her. "A few nights, maybe."

Coulson knew in that split-second. She was planning something, and not something of the passionate kind. Something much bigger. As Coulson ran through the possible plans she could execute through his head, he spoke. "I see what you're doing." He told her.

"I'm reminiscing," She said as she began to slowly approach him. "This plane is such a step up from the RV we used to work out of when you were stationed in Cusco."

"I don't remember much working," Coulson replied. She chucked as Coulson continued. "I also don't remember you being this direct."

Camilla's expression changed from one of michevous nature to a look of annoyance before quickly switching back.

 _Well,_ Coulson thought to himself. _This is an interesting development._

 **Jonathan**

As the three continued nursing their drinks and talking, Jonathan noticed Ward look off to the side once more. This time, instead of looking away, Ward's eyes noticebly narrowed.

Before Jonathan could question what he was doing, Ward turned back to them. "Skye," He said in a calm tone. "Hand me the bottle."

Skye scoffed. "Okay, turbo," She said. "But you're still nursing the one you got."

Ward stared at both Jonathan and Skye intensely. "I'm not the only one." He replied.

Immediatly upon hearing that, something inside Jonathan's head clicked. In an instant, he recalled everything he saw the last time he looked over at the soldiers playing cards. Beside them, resting on the table, were their drinks. Their FULL drinks. Not even sipped at. Nobody pours themselves a full drink and doesn't sip it, unless they had something on their mind. Something planned.

Jonathan, Ward and Skye all looked at each other, each of their expressions showing that they had put two-and-two together.

Jonathan once again felt his muscles tighten and his nerves heighten, although this time, Jonathan felt there was more then enough reason to.

 **Coulson**

"We're stuck in the clouds for the next few hours," Camilla purred, leaning against the wall. "We might as well enjoy ourselves." She slowly started to approach Coulson, who was deep in thought. "We could make a few more memories to add to your collection." She placed her hand on her hip as she stopped in front of him. "What do you think?"

Coulson smiled. "I think..." He stood and approached her. "Ward already knows you'll have to eliminate May from the equation to have a chance."

Camilla smirked, but no longer in a seductive way. Her eyes, once sparkling with mischief and playfulness, now locked onto Coulson with a cold and calculating demeanor. One thing was certain for Coulson; the mood had certainly been killed.

"Which gives him about twenty seconds to get to her first." Coulson finished.

 **Jonathan**

It happened in an instant. With almost no vocalization, the two soldiers began their charge toward's the group. And Jonathan and Ward acted just as quick.

As Jonathan quickly shoved Skye out of harms way, Ward stood and caught the first soldier's fist easily. In one swift move, he twisted it down, pinned it to the table and quickly brought the bottle down on it. The bottle shattered against the soldier's hand and he let out a horrific yell of pain as he dropped to the ground, cradling his blood soaked hand. Ward let him drop to the ground and turned his attention to the advancing soldiers from the bar.

The second soldier quickly leaped over the couch and threw a punch at Jonathan. In a second, before Jonathan even knew what he was doing, his arm and palm extended and caught the soldier's oncoming punch. Almost like instinct, he twisted the soldiers arm down. There was a crack of bone as the soldier let a groan of absolute pain. His leg seemed to act completely on his own as it quickly shot up and delivered a hard kick to the soldiers chest, producing another crack of bones.

In shock, Jonathan quickly dropped the groaning soldier to the ground as he stared at his hands in amazement. "How the hell?" He asked himself out loud. His thought was interrupted by the fist connecting with his left cheek painfully.

Jonathan's hand immediatly pressed against his cheek. When he pulled it away, he found his palm smeared with blood. He turned to see another Peruvian soldier, this one in a fighting stance, his fists raised and his eyes determined.

Jonathan felt his teeth grit in absolute anger as he faced the soldier. "That hurt." He growled. He balled his hand into a fist and immediatly threw it toward the soldier.

The soldier immediatly crossed his wrists in a defensive position, ready to take the brunt of the fist, but Jonathan expected this. He stopped his punch short, crouched and charged, knocking the soldier to the wall and knocking the wind out of him.

Jonathan used this advantage to deliver a knee to the soldier's chest and slam the soldiers head against the wall, knocking him out cold.

He didn't even have a second to catch his breath before both of his arms were pinned as one of the soldiers put him in a bearhold. He struggled against the soldier's grip, but he wasn't strong enough to break out. He yelled out in pain as the soldier began to slowly squeezing him. Jonathan's mending ribs began to crack painfully once more. White hot pain shot through Jonathan's chest. Pain so intense, he couldn't think about anything else.

Just before he fully passed out from the pain, the sound of shattering glass and a grunt of pain broke him out of passing out. The soldier's hold loosened and Jonathan's instincts made their move. He reeled his head forward and threw it violently back, smashing the back of his head against the soldier's face. Pain exploded into Jonathan's head, but at the same time, the soldier's hold on him completely slipped away. Jonathan fell to the ground, took a deep breath to fight back the pain in his chest and whirled around.

The soldier was now on the ground, writhing in pain as he clutched his bloody face. Above him, broken bottle in hand, was Skye. Dropping what was left of the bottle on the ground, she looked up at him. "You okay?" She asked.

Jonathan nodded to her. "Peachy." He said with a mix of humor and seriousness. "Thanks for the assist, Skye."

She nodded to him. "I try." She quipped.

As Jonathan came to a full stand, he began to notice that all of the fighting came to a complete stop. He looked around and noticed that Ward had stopped mid punch on a downed soldier. His gaze was locked on something in front of him, his eyes wide with shock.

Jonathan, gritting his teeth through the pain in his chest and head, turned toward whatever held Ward's gaze. That's when his blood ran cold.

The first thing that caught his eye was that Coulson had arrived. He felt himself grow hopeful at first, hoping that the head agent could help them win the fight. But those hopes were quickly dashed when he saw that, like Ward, Coulson stared toward the moniter in the briefing room. Jonathan's sight immediatly fixed on the briefing room moniter and he felt himself freeze.

The moniter displayed a direct camera feed video into the lab, showing one of the Peruvian soldiers, his knife to Fitz's throat. Behind him stood Simmons, her arms tied behind her back as she looked on at the situation, fear in her eyes.

The message the soldier displayed was obvious: surrender or we execute him.

Before Jonathan could even choose how to react, another grunt from behind him caught his attention. Another soldier now had Skye in a hold, his expression showing that he was displaying the same kind of message that his friend in the lab was saying.

After a moment, Jonathan felt himself drop his defensive stature and straighten. A moment later, Ward did the same. They couldn't do anything without costing the lives of both Skye and Fitz. There was no way out.

The Peruvian soldiers began to move toward them as Coulson turned to the woman in charge of the soldiers, Reyes. "We were allies," Coulson said to her. "We had history. When did you decide to throw that away?"

"As soon as I saw your team." Reyes replied.

The Peruvians had checkmated the team, and they knew it. As the soldiers began to stand them all up and tie their arms behind their backs, Jonathan felt a sense of dread run through him. The team had lost the battle and the plane. The 0-8-4 now belonged to the Peruvians.

 **Coulson**

Another crack of pain shot through Coulson's cheek as the interrogator's fist made contact once more. It hurt, but Coulson had been in worse situations then this, much worse situations. He wasn't going to crack to some thug.

He turned back to the thug and fixed him with another glare. Camilla sighed as she called off the grunt, no doubt knowing now that that was not going to work against him.

As the grunt walked away, Coulson spit out another glob of blood from his mouth and turned to Camilla. "The reason I'm still alive is because you need me to verify the change of routes for your pilot when HQ calls in any minute now."

"I'd appreciate that." Camilla replied, not taking her eyes of the table moniter.

"But if I don't, SHIELD will shoot this aircraft out of the sky. That'll take the 0-8-4 out of your hands." He glared at her. "Maybe I should let them."

"Oh, no," She replied in a mocking tone. "I think you'll make the calls. You already handed me your plane for the life of one of your little lab rats. If I open the cargo hold, you'll lose them all. And you are such a sentimentalist."

Coulson continued to glare at her, but he knew that she wasn't wrong. After all, she was one of the few people that knew him, inside and out.

 **Skye**

"This is my fault," Fitz said, breaking the silence that had settled in the hanger since they were placed in there. "Should have learned Kung-Fu."

Skye scoffed as she leaned her head against the back of the hanger doors. Even in the face of the worst of situations, Fitz found a way to lighten the mood a little, even if unintentionally doing it. She mentally thanked him for that.

They were all sitting with their backs to the hanger entrance, their arms tied behind their backs. The only exception was May, who was currently lying unconcious near Jonathan beside her. The situation was definitly not a good one.

Beside her, Simmons replied. "Yeah, but I shouldn't have pushed you into in the first place. You weren't ready."

"It was my job to make a proper threat assessment." Ward said.

Fitz turned to Simmons, a bit shocked "Uh, we- _we_ weren't ready." He replied.

Skye decided to speak up. "This wouldn't have happened if Agent May wasn't on the stick," She said. "She would have busted out some of her ninja know-how."

Both Fitz and Simmons looked at her in confusion. "Agent May?" Fitz asked incrediously. "No. No, no. She transferred from administration."

Beside Skye, Jonathan looked toward Fitz and Simmons, his expression just as shocked as them. "Are you sure about that? Because she seems like much more then just an administrator."

"Yeah," Skye agreed. "I've seen her destroy a guy, so..."

All eyes turned to Ward, who let out a small sigh. "You've heard of the Cavalry?" He asked.

For Skye, it didn't ring any bells and based on Jonathan's expression, it didn't ring an bells to him as well.

"Yeah." Fitz and Simmons answered at the same time. "Wh... Everybody at the academy talks about st..."

Immediatly, revelation shot across both of their faces. "She's the Cavalry?!" They both exclaimed.

Before Skye could ask what they were talking about, a voice startled them out of their conversation. "I told you never to call me that." May muttered as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Oh, I can't believe it," Simmons said excitedly. "Oh, we're sure to get out of here now." She leaned towards May. "Um, how do we get out of here?"

May sat up, looked them all over, and sighed. "Can't go through the doors." May said to them. "They're bolted. Tied to the pressurization lines." She looked toward Fitz and Simmons. "You two geniuses have nothing?"

Fitz and Simmons both looked at each other for a moment before looking back at her. "Yeah," Fitz replied. "Well, it's hard to concentrate in these intense situations."

Ward leaned forward. "Hey, don't freeze up. Take a breath."

"Fitz, Simmons," Jonathan called. "You don't need to come up with the whole solution to fix the problem at hand."

Skye turned to him, appreciation that he was using her own words to rally the troops. She finished the statement at the same time Ward finished it. "You only need part of it."

Jonathan made eye contact with her and smiled. Skye found herself smiling back. "Pieces solving a puzzle." She said as she examined the hanger.

 **Jonathan**

"Well," Simmons said. "That's clearly the worst idea we've heard yet."

"But it could work." Skye stressed.

"Reyes is going to kill us the minute we land, regardless," Ward replied. "And blame it on the rebels. This way, we have a fighting chance. I'll take it."

"We've got nothing to lose then," Jonathan said to the team. "He's right. This may be our only way."

"Exactly," Ward said. "What's first?"

"We can't get upstairs without going through the lab," Fitz said.

"And the only way to release the lab doors is from upstairs." Simmons said.

"The first thing is," Skye chimed in. "We're tied to the cargo door, so unless you can-"

Skye was interrupted by the sickening audible crack of a bone so loud, the entire team jumped. "What the hell was that?!" Fitz demanded.

Jonathan turned to see May wiggling out of her restraints, her wrist noticebly out of place.

"Her wrist," Ward answered.

May quickly slipped off the rest of restraints and made her way to the bottom of the hanger walkway. Just at that moment, one of the Peruvian soldiers made his way down the catwalk to check on them, gun in hand. His eyes scanned the line and he stopped at the very end, where May used to be. As a look of confusion passed over his face, a pair of legs swung up over the railing and wrapped around the soldiers neck. With a loud almost battle cry from May, she flipped the soldier over. He fell and slammed into the metal ground of the hanger, where he stilled.

May dropped from the catwalk and faced them as she popped her wrist back into place. "What's next?" She asked.

...

"Okay," Skye said to the group. "We're sure, right? Everyone's sure?"

"We're a go." Jonathan assured.

"We're all on board." Simmons confirmed.

"Yeah," Fitz said. "Let's do this fast."

"No turning back. No freezing up." Ward told them.

"Because if we do, then..." Fitz said.

"All of us die." Ward confirmed.

"We know." Skye said to him.

Ward sighed and nodded his head. "All right." He said.

Before any of them could say anything else, an engine rev caught all of their attention. They turned to see May leaning out of one of the SHIELD SUV's, a bored look on her face. "You guys talk a lot." She muttered as she entered the car.

 **Jonathan**

To say that the crash was loud was an understatement. To say the crash was ear-bleeding was an understatement. For Jonathan, the sound of the SUV slamming into the lab doors was Earth-Shattering.

It was Earth-Shattering, but it got the job done. The once locked doors were now a shattered mess, scattered across the lab. "That..." Jonathan said. "Wasn't exactly quiet."

Skye turned to him and smiled. "We better move fast then." She said. Jonathan couldn't argue with that.

They moved as quick as they could, grabbing every chain, every harness and every belt that they could muster. Jonathan quickly grabbed a drill and took off the bolts of the air vent systems and gave the thumbs up to Fitz and Simmons, who were busily preparing their drones. He quickly made his way back into the lab and slapped a harness around his waist, alongside Skye, Fitz, Simmons and Ward.

As they did this, May quickly made her way back up to the cockpit. After a few minutes, Fitz and Simmons fully activated their drones, which began to float up around the team. "We are a go." Simmons told the team as she and Fitz navigated the drones into the vents.

As Jonathan began to tighten the harness around his waist, he felt himself bite into his lip painfully. "Here we go." He said as he felt the zip as his harness tightened.

 **Coulson**

The communicator crackled as a voice came through, "SHIELD 6-1-6, we have radar contact. Requesting confirmation on a change in course. Over."

Camilla wasted no time drawing her firearm and leveling it at Coulson's head. "Answer it," She said coldly. "Or they all learn what a thirty-thousand foot drop feels like."

Coulson glared up at her, not saying a word. He felt his hands starting to loosen the rope at last, but he had to keep her concentration on the confirmation delimma as long as he could so she didn't find out.

The communicator crackled once more. "Agent Coulson, are you there?"

Visibly frustrated, Camilla turned and began pacing around the communicator, Coulson guessing that she was probably thinking of anyway to get past this without his help. He slipped through the last of the ropes and evaluated the situation at hand. He considerd attacking now, while her back was to him and her defenses were lowered. He also considerd manually shutting down the Bus's power and letting it drop to the ground below, depriving the Peruvians of any chance of getting the 0-8-4. But at the cost of his team.

As he was considering both options, an object at the end of hall caught his eye, a familier object that filled him with a sense of pride and hope as it crossed though the couches and towards the 0-8-4 on the table. Almost instantly, he wrapped his rope ties to the pole once more. He knew he was going to need them.

"Agent Coulson?" The communicator called out again. "Everything all right up there? We heard you had a little dustup on the ground."

Camilla turned to him, walked towards Coulson and once again leveled the gun at his head, her eyes showing that she no longer held any patience. It was now or never.

Eyes locked with Camilla, Coulson spoke. "Yeah, we're all good." He said. "It's going to be blue sky's from here on out."

Camilla's smug look didn't last long. It was quickly replaced by a look of confusion as a low hum began to echo through the room. That sound was soon drowned out by the sound of ripping of metal as a massive explosion shredded through the plane and a wave of air threw Reyes violently to the ground and Coulson across the room and toward the massive hole in the side of the Bus.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan was not prepared for how violently the Bus would shake when they detonated the 0-8-4. He thought he was prepared for it. He was proven to be wrong. Horribly wrong.

The Bus immediatly shoved violently to one side as the pressure was released, throwing the team to one side of the wall. Instantly following that, the plane began to shake with the force of the Earthquake.

As the team held on to the catwalk to keep their balance, they were greeted with a chime as the light of the door locked switched from red to green.

"It worked," Skye exclaimed.

"The drop in cabin pressure released the doors," Simmons said.

Ward turned to them. "Jonathan and I will take care of the soldiers," He said. "You guys go get the 0-8-4."

"And Coulson?" Fitz asked through the howl of the wind.

"Let's hope he can handle himself." Ward answered as he dragged open the door.

Jonathan was immediatly met with a powerful shove of wind and the painful whistle of the speed of the wind. Struggling through it, the team quickly ascended the steps and reached the top level of the plane, which was in a state of utter chaos and ruin.

Wind whistled through the room, carrying papers, books, plates and tears of the couch fabric. The only sound that anyone could hear is the violent scream of the wind as it tore through the Bus violently. The wind all arced toward a massive hole punched into the side of the plane, leading out to the 30,000 foot drop to the ground.

Before they could do anything else, bullets began richocheting against the wall as the soldiers began to open fire on them.

"Get back!" Ward called back to them as they continued to fire.

Two Peruvian soldiers let out war cries and charged at them, guns fully drawn and firing. Fitz, Simmons and Skye quickly ducked back into the doorway as Jonathan ducked behind a wooden desk alongside Ward. The soldiers bullets impacted the desk, sending wood splinters flying through the air. As both soldiers advanced toward the desk, Jonathan and Ward made their move.

Ward grabbed one of the soldiers and quickly threw him against the desk, sending his gun flying through the air. As Ward took care of the first soldier, Jonathan moved to take care of the second.

As the soldier raised his pistol and took sight on Ward, Jonathan (Letting his instincts take over) quickly vaulted over the desk, swinging his leg in front of him and connecting the heel of his shoe against the lower jaw of the soldier. As the soldier recoiled, Jonathan quickly delivered a left hook to the soldier's damaged jaw, grabbed his head and slammed it into the wooden armrest of the couch. The soldier buckled to the ground.

Jonathan immediatly grabbed the seatbelt of the couch and tied both arms of the unconcious soldier to the couch. He turned to see Ward doing the same to his unconcious soldier. Ward turned to him, saw that Jonathan's soldier was taken care of and turned to the rest of the team. "Go now!" He called to them. "Find the 0-8-4!"

Before ethier of them could even take a breath, both Ward and Jonathan were jumped on from behind by a towering Peruvian soldier. His arms hooked them both by their necks and pulled back with immense strength, violently choking them.

Jonathan felt himself begin to claw and pull at the soldier's arm in a desperate attempt to free himself, to no avail. The soldier, no doubt in response to the pain Jonathan was inflicting to his arm, tightened his grip with so much strength, black spots began to pepper Jonathan's eyes.

As Jonathan strained to take any intake of air he could and as his vision began to slowly darken,a swift moment in his preferial vision caught his attention. Ward, who also looked to be struggling to take a breath, made eye contact with Jonathan. He weakly raised his left leg and quickly lowered it. Not even a second later, Ward raised and brought it down once more, except this time, it made contact.

Ward's boot slammed into the soldiers left kneecap. Under the force of the blow, the soldier's kneecap displaced with an audible _pop._ Almost instantly, the soldier's grip loosened on both Jonathan and Ward as he dropped to the ground, a cry of absolute agony escaping from his lips as he clutched at his knee. Jonathan, quickly sucking in as much air as he could manage (given the fact that there was currently a massive hole sucking out most of the oxygen), seized the advantage that had presented itself.

Adrenaline pumping through him, he quickly turned to the wounded soldier and threw a left jab to the soldiers right cheek. A crack sounded as Jonathan's fist made contact and the soldier flopped to the floor, unmoving and unconcious.

Jonathan's mind raced as his hands immediatly moved to the harness around his waist, checking to make sure it was secure. To his relief, it was. That was good. He really didn't want to know what a minute long free fall to the ground was like. That good feeling did not last long at all.

Unfortunately for both Jonathan and Ward, the three soldiers they had defeated were far from the last. As the rest of the soldiers quickly advanced on both of them, Ward let out a sigh beside him. "They better find the 8-0-4 soon," Ward yelled out over the howl of the wind. "I don't think ethier of us will be able to keep this up for much longer."

"They just need more time," Jonathan replied as he began to grapple with the first advancing soldier of the next wave. "And time is exactly what we'll give them."

 **Skye**

Skye thought she knew the full extent and weight of stress. She had hacked into multiple secure security severs belonging to multiple mega-corperations, all threatening death to any hackers who dared to penetrate their "impenetrable" security firewalls. She never thought anything could compare to the stress of constantly making sure that corperation mercenaries hadn't and couldn't track her down and put a bullet through her head. She thought nothing could ever surpass the stress levels of that situation.

She had to admit though, the stress levels of trying to find an explosive alien artifact on an aircraft with a whole punched in the side while two friends fought and risked their lives fighting off the traitor soldier team that was trying to stop and kill them all? That kind of stress was a whole new level for her.

Her heart thumped painfully in her chest and her mind raced as she crawled along the floor behind the bullet riddled desk. The howl of the wind and the grunts of the skirmish on the other side of the desk screamed in her ears as her hair whipped around and slapped her face. Fear seemed to course through her in waves as the distance between the hole and her began to steadily decrease, a fear so intense, she almost turned back.

As this thought ran through her mind, she clenched both her jaw and her fists painfully as she took a breath. _This is no time to chicken out,_ Skye mentally told herself. _If I don't push through this, we all die._ Taking another intake of air, she continued to push herself forward, fighting against the violent pull of the wind all the while.

Behind her, Fitz and Simmons didn't seem to be faring much better. As she crawled on her chest towards the explosion point of the 0-8-4, she felt the harness pull back violently. Behind her, Fitz let out a yelp of fear. "Help!" He cried out in a mix of fear and surprise.

The harness stopped pulling and suddenly steadied. "Fitz!" Simmons cried out behind her. "Hold on!"

Skye turned to see a sight that didn't exactly help ease the fair. Fitz now had his legs pressed against the wall, his hands gripped tightly on the harness in front of him, now the only thing keeping Skye and Simmons from being sucked out into the atmosphere. His face was strained with determination and struggle as he pulled back on the harness with probably all the strength he could muster.

Before Skye could even consider what they could do to help Fitz, a glowing blue aura swiftly caught her attention. She turned forward to see the 0-8-4 artifact, inbedded in wall in front of the group.

She turned back. "Simmons!" She called out over the howl of the wind.

Simmons looked back up at her in a questioning look (Or what Skye guessed was a questioning look. It was hard to tell, as her expression was squinted from the wind current rushing through the plane) before her eyes went behind Skye and widened.

Simmons turned back to Fitz. "Fitz!" She cried out. "We found it! We found the 0-8-4!"

Fitz's eyes widened as he looked to where they were, before shutting them in response to both the wind and the strain. "We need to secure it!" He replied. "We have to move!"

Just as he finished saying this, the air around them began to roar violently as the Bus went into a sudden nosedive towards the ground. In an instant, Skye found herself flying forward and impacting the wall with such force, the wall actually cracked. Sudden pain rippled across her lower back as Simmons slid beside her. As Skye tried to shake both the pain and the groginess, Simmons crawled to a stand beside her, moved to the wall and began to pull at the artifact.

Through the scream of the wind, the strain that Skye felt as she pulled and loosened at her harness, and the grunts as Jonathan and Ward continued to fight off the soldiers, another sound reached her ears. Through all the noise, she heard voices shouting to each other.

"Coulson!" A feminine voice shouted out to the air.

"Got you!" Coulson's voice shouted out in determination a second later. "Camilla! Hold on!"

Skye felt a sense of relief run through at the sound of Coulson's voice. One of the main fears that the team had during their planning was that they might end up accidently killing Coulson when they detonated the 0-8-4. The last thing any of them wanted was to literally kill the leader of the team. Knowing that Coulson was still alive and kicking gave an amount of joy to Skye. Their worst-case scenario had not been realized.

But even with that fact, Skye could still see that, while their plan had been initially successful, things were not going to hold for long. Through her strained eyes, she watched Jonathan continue to desperately fight off the soldiers. He was handling himself pretty well, but his bloodied look showed that he wasn't going to last much longer.

She watched as Jonathan blocked another jab from the soldier and quickly retaliated with his own jab, striking the soldier in his face and drawing blood. The soldier spat out a glob of blood and, with immense speed, launched his leg forward and struck Jonathan's left knee so hard, Skye couldn't help but cringe.

Jonathan let out a grunt and hiss of absolute pain, but he still fought. Skye watched in shock as Jonathan, teeth clenched in determination, charged forward through the pain and tackled the soldier to the ground. He was struck with another fist and Jonathan quickly struck back.

As they continued to struggle on the floor, Skye's gaze moved to Ward, who didn't look like he was faring much better. Ward and one of the soldiers were in the midst of a violent grapple with each other, both trying to get an advantage on each other.

Ward's hands were violently pressed against the soldier's face and eyes, digging into them as the soldier did the same to Ward. They both let out snarls of pain and anguish as they continued to struggle against each other. After a second of stalemate, it was broken.

The soldier quickly reeled his leg back and slammed into Ward's chest, throwing the agent towards the bar. The soldier once again threw another kick, but this time, Ward was prepared. He quickly caught the attack and proceeded to lift his elbow and drive it down on the soldier's leg with a sickening crack.

The soldier let out a yell of pain, but that didn't stop him from throwing a second punch at Ward, connecting to his face with another loud crack. Ward turned and quicklyretaliated and they begin trading blows once more.

Both Jonathan and Ward continued to fight and hold themselves, but she could see that their jabs were starting to get steadily weaker and they were beginning to allow more hits to impact them.

Skye would have pursed her lips, but she was busy straining against the harness, making sure Simmons didn't fly out of the plane. They had to move fast, before both of their fighters fell and they were overwhelmed.

Simmons let another strained grunt as she pulled back on the 0-8-4 once again. There was a ripping and cracking as, at last, the 0-8-4 was torn from the wall. Simmons let out a gasp of surprise and excitement. "I've got it!" She called out to the team as she struggled against the wind once more.

Skye gripped and quickly pulled herself up to face the two scientists. "Fitz!" She called out. "Reel us back in!"

She felt the harness around her waist tighten as it pulled her towards the door. "I've got you!" Fitz replied as he yanked the harness towards himself.

As Skye gripped onto the line and rode the force towards the exit, a small object flapped in front of her and quickly slapped into her face. She tore it from herself and was about to toss it to the side when she stopped herself.

She took a moment to really begin to examine the paper in front of her. It was the Bus Safety Pamphlet, outlining every escape route, every emergency medical and every emergency item you could think of. Including...

Revelation raced through Skye as words began to play back in her mind.

 _This isn't like other planes._

 _I'm pretty sure this plane had a plan prepared for if a meteor strikes it._

He could say that again. Right then, Skye knew she had a plan.

Her hands went to the harness and began to quickly unhook it.

Simmons eyes went to hers, fear and confusion embedded within them. "What are you doing?!" She demanded as Skye unhooked the last hook. "We need your help!"

"Trust me!" She yelled back as she rolled back and began a desperate crawl towards a red emergency box inserted in the wall across from her. Fear and stress resonated through as she passed the gaping hole, the wind pulling her violently toward inevitable freefall. Fists and jaw locked, she struggled through the pull of the wind and finally closed the distance between the box and herself.

Using what energy she had left, she hoisted herself up from the ground and to her knees. Pressing herself against the box to keep her balance, she quickly went to work, disabling the latches holding the box closed and all but tearing it open. A yellow bag fell the ground in front of her and she quickly picked it up and started to unzip it.

As she worked, chaos started to unfold around her. One of the bloodied soldiers had broken away from the fight and quickly grabbed hold of the harness of the retreating Fitz and Simmons, pulling them back towards him. As the two scientists struggled against the soldier's strength, the soldier suddenly let out a grunt of surprise and pain. A very bloodied Jonathan now had his arm wrapped around the soldier's neck, pulling him back towards the ground.

"You're fighting me." Skye heard Jonathan snarl he continued to pull the soldier back and away from the harness. But even as he tried to pull the soldier away with everything he had, it didn't release the grip the soldier had on the harness. Both Fitz and Simmons were pulled along for the ride as Jonathan and the soldier struggled against each other.

Through the struggle, Jonathan croaked out. "Fitz! Simmons! Disconnect the harness!"

"What about you?" Simmons demanded.

"Don't worry about me!" Jonathan called back. "You guys have to get out of here! Disconnect the harness!"

Fitz and Simmons exchanged worried glances, then both moved to the harness and began desperately unhooking it.

The soldier, realization appearing in his angry expression, began to attempt to climb the harness in one last attempt to reach the scientists, he key word being tried. Sweat and red color peppered the soldiers face as Jonathan continued to pull back on the mans neck.

"Cut him loose!" Simmons called out.

The soldier tried to attempt one last pull to drag Fitz and Simmons to him, but, thankfully, it was too late.

A click sounded out as the harness dropped from the two SHIELD scientists, flinging both the soldier and Jonathan backwards. Worry rushed through Skye as they both grappled across the room, fear building that her amnesiac friend would be sucked out of the plane and into the air.

To her relief, both rolled past the gaping hole. But that didn't stop them from running into Ward and his enemy, sending them both towards the hole. Thankfully, Ward managed to catch himself and the soldier, thanks to a metal pole near the hole. Unfortunately, the best Ward could do was stop himself from flying out at the moment. But both him and the soldier were now in the center of the pull, and they had no way to escape. Skye knew she had to work fast.

As she at last fully unzipped the yellow bag, Ward let out a roar of pain and strain. She looked up to see Ward's arm outstretched and clamped on the soldier's arm, pulling him away from the void's pull. "Hold on!" He cried out as struggled to pull the soldier towards him. Suddenly, an audible tear sounded. Ward looked on in terror as the man cried out in fear and surprise, the wind pulling him towards and through the hole. He was yanked back by the sudden change of wind and, in a flash, he was gone.

Trying not to dwell on the horrible feeling she felt watching that, she grabbed the strap of the yellow bag she held and pulled back with every ounce of energy she had left. There was a loud explosion of air releasing as the craft began to rapidly inflate in front of her. With no time to think, she kicked it forward toward's the hole just as Ward lost his grip on the pole. It exploded into a full sized yellow floating device as it slammed into the hole, blocking the pull and rush of air and catching Ward as he flew into it, the wind knocked out of him.

Suddenly, for the first time since the explosion, quiet descended on the ship and the violent pull of the wind completely ceased. It was finally over.

One last painful crack sounded through the air. Skye turned to see that Jonathan had delivered the final punch to the soldier he had been fighting, finally knocking the stubborn soldier out. Realizing he had won, Jonathan rolled to the side and sprawled himself out on the floor, his breath labored and gasping.

Skye felt herself press against the cool wall as she weakly stood and approached Jonathan. Jonathan, his face now a harbor of bruises and bleeding cuts, looked up at her as she approached.

"Did... Did you throw a small floaty at the hole in the plane to cover it up?" He asked, all the while gasping for air.

Skye felt herself chuckle weakly as she offered Jonathan a hand up. "Like you said," She said as she pulled him up. "SHIELD is amazingly thorough, to the point where they have emergency floaties big enough to patch a hole in the plane."

Jonathan chuckled weakly as well and smiled. "Thank God for insane emergency planning." He said to her as they spread out to recover the rest of the team.

Skye's next stop was to Ward, who was still sprawled out weakly in front of the now blocked hole. She reached out and quickly pulled him to a stand. "I read the safety pamphlet." She said to Ward as they both began their walk to the bar.

Ward looked at her. "I think you might be the first." He quipped. Skye smirked. Ward did have the potential for humor after all.

As the full team gathered around the bar, exhausted, Coulson spoke. "No other way in, huh?" He asked, wiping the blood from the edge of his lip. He place a chipped shot glass in the center of the bar, a wistful look on his face. "Was just starting to warm up to this place."

Skye felt herself mentally laugh as she reached down, grabbed a coaster and placed the shot glass on top of it. Coulson looked at her, his normally readless expression now amused.

"The 0-8-4 is cooling and stable." Fitz reported to the team as he leaned against one of the ceiling holders. "But we should call HQ and get it to the slingshot as soon as possible."

While the team nodded and took the moment of quiet and calm to catch their breath, Coulson rounded around them and turned to the now gutted Briefing Room, where Reyes laid, tied up and contained. "Told you they were good." Coulson said with a smile.

..

 **The Slingshot**

 **Location: Classified**

 **Jonathan**

"That was impressive," Skye said to Jonathan as they descended the steps towards the hanger.

Jonathan shifted his cheek once more as the stitches continued to stretch uncomfortably around his wound. "What was impressive?" Jonathan asked her. "The part where I got myself punched and kicked about fifty times each?"

She rolled her eyes, scoffing. "Not that," She replied. "Although I will admit that was equally as impressive."

Jonathan shot a quick glare at her as she smirked at him and continued. "I meant during all the fighting. You were actually defending yourself pretty well back there, using techniques that I'm pretty sure no civilian would know, to knock trained soldiers on their asses. How the hell can you do that?"

Jonathan ran this through his mind. Skye was one-hundred percent right. At this point, he could probably cross "regular person" off of his list of possible past life occupation. No civilian would know the things his muscle-memory knew how to do. Whatever the hell he was, Jonathan knew one thing for sure: he was a fighter.

He wish he could find something to cross off of his "whoever the hell he was" list as well, but unfortunately, his luck had shown that he was nowhere near that threshhold yet.

"I have no clue why I'm able to do what I do," Jonathan replied to her as they reached the end of the staircase. "And I wish that I knew exactly who the hell I was so I could make sense of everything that's happening."

Skye smirked. "You're definitly not the only one who's asking those questions anymore," She said to him. "After what you've shown yourself to be capable of, every member of SHIELD is probably asking themselves 'Who the hell is Jonathan'."

Jonathan turned to her. "The entire organization?" He asked incrediously and a bit playfully.

Skye nodded. "Well, not the ENTIRE company. Kind of exaggerated there. But you managed to pique the curiosities of the entire team and maybe beyond that. May is piqued. Ward is piqued. Coulson is piqued. Heck," She turned to him, their eyes meeting once again. "You even managed to pique my curiosity."

Before Jonathan could question any further, Skye turned back forward and stopped in front of Coulson, who was crouched in front of a styled red car.

"Not a scratch," Skye said to him as she rounded around to his right side. "But your plane's totaled." She motioned to the construction and repairs taking place around them. "I hope SHIELD insurance covers hijackings."

"Sure," Coulson said to her. "Under incidentals."

Jonathan looked at him in shock. "Are you being serious?" He asked. It was always hard to tell with Coulson.

The team leader looked back at him. "You said it yourself, Jonathan." He said. "Our SHIELD emergency plans are planned for every possible scenario that this job throw's our way. Why would SHIELD insurance be any different?"

Jonathan was taken a little aback. That must have been one big insurance list.

Skye let out a light chuckle. "What exactly are we signing up for?" She asked Coulson.

Coulson smirked at them both. "Like I said, front-row seat to the craziest show on Earth."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect the show to get this crazy, this fast all for an object you're going to destroy." Skye replied.

"Yeah, it sounds like in some ways, the 0-8-4 could be pretty beneficial to SHIELD and the world," Jonathan said. "You sure destroying it is the right thing to do?"

"Slingshot is protocol." Coulson replied to both of them. "A weapon like the 0-8-4 is too dangerous for any person or country to have. People like Reyes would always be after it."

Jonathan felt himself nod. It did make sense to send the weapon to a place where no one could have access to it. Even out the playing field once more so that the civilians of one country didn't have to pay in blood for a war they never asked for. It made sense logically. However, for whatever reason, a nagging feeling rested at the bottom of his heart. A feeling that, maybe, the world was meant for something great and that, maybe, some situations would require a weapon of that magnitude. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to keep it. A bit confused to why he thought that and blaming it on just paranoia built throughout the day, he keyed back in on the conversation.

"What happened with Reyes anyway?" Skye asked Coulson.

"She's being held at a SHIELD detainment facility," Coulson replied. "I expect the Peruvian Government will negotiate for her release." He looked up at Skye. "She probably won't spend much time in jail."

"No," Skye said. "I mean what _happened_ between you and Reyes?" She smirked. "You guys totally did it back in the day, right?"

Coulson looked up at her, unreadable smile equipped once more. "That's classified." He replied as he moved out toward the hanger doors.

Jonathan chuckled and turned to Skye. "Told you." Jonathan said to her. "Unbreakable Firewalls."

Skye laughed. "I'll get past them sooner or later." She turned to him, smiling. "I always do."

Jonathan smiled back as the clang of metal steps and voices caught both of their attention.

"We blew up a plane," Fitz exclaimed.

"I had a new experience," Simmons chimed in as they continued their descent down the stairs, beer bottle in her hand.

"Eat that, Professor Vaughn." Fitz said.

"You had a new experience." Simmons said as she reached the bottom. "But it was new for all of us."

"They're happy." May said from the side as the duo descended the hanger ramp, Jonathan now noticing the blue cooler in Fitz's hand.

"Hey, come on," Fitz called out to them all as they passed. "You guys don't want to miss this."

Curiosity running about what could excite Fitz and Simmons to the point of grabbing alcohal, Jonathan followed the rest of the team down towards them.

"So, it'll take about one-hundred and eighty days to reach the Sun." Fitz said as he and Simmons sat. "Now, yes, of course, it would have been faster if they used hydrogen-fueled APU's, but they're having fun."

"Are you guys drinking?" Jonathan asked as he sat behind the cooler. "There's something I didn't think I'd see you guys do."

"How many of those have you guys had?" Skye asked, an amused expression on her face.

Simmons laughed as she passed a beer back to Jonathan. "Sk- Skye. It's important when in the field to unwind from time to time."

"Yeah," Fitz agreed. "Yeah, especially after a hard day of everyone almost dying."

Jonathan rolled what they said through his mind for a moment. "You know," He said as he took a swig of his beer. "They're not wrong."

"Exactly," Simmons said as she took another drink. "It doesn't happen everyday, right? It's an anomaly, an irregularity. Not... the norm."

"Speaking of not the norm," Coulson turned to the team. "Whose idea was it to blow a hole in the plane?"

A moment of silence descended on the team as they turned to Coulson, their expressions showing that they didn't know what to say. Finally, Skye spoke up. "May said that the doors were tied to the pressurization, so I thought..."

"So," Simmons chimed in. " _We_ thought it was the only way to release them."

"It was everyone's idea, sir." Ward said to Coulson.

"We all thought it up and agreed on it together." Jonathan said.

"Yes," Fitz said. "Quite genius, really."

After a moment, Coulson smiled. "Nice work."

As the team turned to each other, respect building for each other, a voice sounded out through the loudspeakers. "All clear for liftoff." A man boomed.

"Oh, time for blastoff." Fitz said as the loud metal clanking echoed across the hanger. His fingers went to his nose and he pressed down as he spoke. "Launching," He said in a nasally voice that produced chuckles from the team. "In three... two..."

Just before he hit "one", large plumes of smoke shot to the sides in the distance as the rocket, containing the 0-8-4, was launched and beginning its half-year trip to the Sun.

"The trajectory will take it beyond the Lagrange Point so that it doesn't hit Herschel." Fitz said as the rocket continued to soar.

"And there haven't been any coronal mass ejections," Simmons said. "So it shouldn't lose telemetry."

"Guys," Ward said. "English."

Jonathan felt himself begin to smile as he watched the rocket punch through the clouds and swiftly move it way towards orbit. For the first time since the team meeting, he found himself believing in the team again. Not even a fully day ago, they were arguing and at each other's throats. Now the team sat beside each other, drinking beers and watching the dangerous artifact they secured together launch into space, never to harm another person again. They once couldn't stand and/or trust each other. Now, they were unified and ready to take on the world.

That gave hope. Hope that they could save people. Hope that they could succeed in unwinnable odds. Hope that they could actually make the world safer. Hope that, for better or worse, they could find out who or what the hell Jonathan was and find out the reason for the Centipede organization and what purpose it served.

Because if there was one thing Jonathan was sure of, it's that he would find the truth, to whatever end.

 **Next Chapter:** **The team infiltrates a party to secure a scientist, but what seemed like a rescue op turns out to be something much greater and much deadlier. As the team is forced to deal with twists and turns in their plans, truths are revealed. Truths that may put Jonathan directly in the path of his past.**


	6. Chapter 6: Party Crashers

**Author's Note:** _Sorry this took a while. Christmas and second semesters and a very poorly timed hard-drive crash, but I am back. I'm excited. We're getting to our first "checkpoint", the points in the story where I begin to reveal little snippets about exactly who Jonathan was before SHIELD. I won't be doing this EVERY chapter, only on certain ones. And this is our first stop. Hope you enjoy! Favorite! Follow! Review! All that jazz! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Don't own a thing except for Jonathan! All rights go to Marvel Studios! NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Five: Party Crashers (Start of S1, E3)**

...

 _"High and low I've traveled,_

 _Far and wide I'd go"_

The words of the song seemed to come almost natrually to Agent Mack now. And he wasn't surprised. The song had kept him entertained on every transport mission he had had, especially since none of the agents were allowed full radio out of fear of being tracked by their enemies via radio-waves. Most people would probably say no to the job upon realizing that they had to drive long hours with nothing to entertain them, but Mack was actually okay with that aspect.

Hell, as long as he was stuck with a song he would actually like, he was peachy with transporting SHIELD precious cargo across the country. And he had to say that when he got the tape a mission ago, he initially felt mixed about the song. Now, he could recite it in his sleep.

He continued to keep to the familier tune as he continued his drive down the dusty road laid out in front of him.

 _"From the desert tracks to the mountainside_

 _I'll bring you this traveling show"_

As Mack reached down and took another sip from the straw of his Big Gulp, his communicator began to crackle and cough as a voice came through, "Big Boy, this is Little Boy. How'd things go down at the Chicken Coop?"

Without missing a beat, Mack grabbed the radio's microphone and spoke. "Weigh-station inspector needs to learn some adult words and a bit of hygiene, but he waved us through. The cargo is secure. Looks like a clean shot from here."

"Roger that," The voice replied. "Little Girl will take point on your front door. See you at the drop stop, Mack. I'm clear."

The black SUV that had been steadily trailing his truck pulled to the right lane and began to speed ahead of Mack. The driver waved to him as he passed and Mack waved back. He felt his hands loosen and relax on the wheel as the SUV continued forward in front of him. The day was defenitely turning in a direction that Mack was looking forward to. If there was one thing that never ceased to relax and brighten Mack, it was easy transport jobs, and this mission was looking to become an easy.

Those thoughts were quickly shattered when, with no sound or warning, Little Girl's SUV flipped off the street and soared through the air. Mack watched with a mix of shock and horror as the SUV hung suspended in the air for a split second, then came down roof first. Windows shattered and metal twisted as Little Girl slammed into the street, the road cracking and chipping under the force of the impact.

Mack instantly and violently yanked the driver's wheel as he desperately swerved around the crumpled SUV, just barely skimming the truck's attachment against the metal remains.

"Son of a bitch!" He cursed as he straightened his truck's route out. A million thoughts screamed through his head at once. One thought ran all the SHIELD organizations and enemies that he knew of, trying to figure out who was currently attacking the transport. Another focused mainly on the fact that his hands were now painfully clenching down on the wheel as he pressed down on the gas pedal with everything he had.

The tan SUV that was once following him closely from behind now drove at his side, taking up a defensive position similar to that of Little Girl's.

Mack felt himself once again reach down, grab the radio's microphone and bring it up to him. "You see that?!" He demanded, a cold sweat running down his cheek.

"Little Girl is down!" The once calm voice yelled back at him. "Repeat, Escort Two is down!"

"I know, Sherlock!" Mack yelled back, frustration now added to his voice. "What the hell hit us?"

He quickly holstered the mic and reached under the wheel, bringing the holo-screen into view in front of him. His hand quickly swiped and typed across the screen, informing the system that they were currently under attack. Almost instantly, the system integrated the emergency route into the truck's GPS and began to offer defensive and offensive capabilites that the truck had, which would usually reassure Mack. But, seeing as how there were currently no enemies in sight and Little Girl was lifted and thrown down by seemingly nothing at all, the weapons were not reassuring him.

"We need to go to Alt 2," Mack spoke into his commuicator. "Alt 2."

Little Boy quickly sped up and began to pull in front of Mack's transport. "Nothing over our shoulder," The driver reported. "Back door's clear. Protect the cargo at all costs."

Following protocal, Mack quickly turned the radio's knobs to a precise order and pushed down on the center knob. A click was heard as the knob glowed blue. "Connection established." A computerized voice said to him through the speakers.

He picked up his communicator once more. "SHIELD Region CT, this is Agent Mack." He reported. "We are under attack from an unseen i-don't-know-what."

To his relief, the communicator began to crackle once more as a voice began to poke through. Before a word was even uttered, to Mack's horror, Little Boy's SUV violently shot to the opposite road, flipping over and crashing against the road. There was another groan and crunch of metal as the SUV sparked against the road and came to a stop, unmoving, vanishing as Mack quickly passed it.

Through his shock, Mack could faintly hear a voice through his speaker. "Agent Mack?"

"What in the holy name of ...?!" His surprise and fear were cut short by a sudden wave of force slamming into his chest, pressing him against the seat as his truck began to steadily ascend into the air. He felt his blood rush through his body at a lightning pace as his eyes began to dart around, trying to see if he could find the person or thing causing the flight of his truck. But there was nothing. No person, no object. Absolutely nothing.

His truck was now floating a straight route up, bumper pointing towards the sky. As the blue of the sky covered his windshield and the pressure continued to mount on his chest, he spoke in a strained voice, "SHIELD Region CT..." He took in another intake of air as he tried to find the words to describe what was happening to him. "Oh, hell," He finally choked out. "I can't explain it."

Before he can sputter out anything else, he suddenly felt all of his weight drop as his Big Gulp began to float beside him. He felt his eyes widen as a grim realization went over him. He was in free-fall.

"Oh, NOOOOOOOO!" He felt himself scream at the top of his lungs. Surroundings blurred as he felt the truck speed toward's the road below. He had no time to even think before the rip and crash of metal tore into his ears as the truck slammed into the cement. Pain coursed through Mack's body as uncounciousness began to claim him. As his sight blurred, the last thing he was able to make out through his truck's broken windows was an armed squad of soldiers quickly make their way to the back of the truck's trailer and towards the special cargo. This isn't good, Mack thought as he blacked out entirely.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan felt himself reel back in a perfect mix of shock and surprise. So much so, that he almost had to catch himself. "You're going to have to repeat that," Jonathan replied to the senior Agent. "I am having trouble believing what I'm hearing."

May's analyzing expression never left her face. "If you want to work alongside SHIELD, you've got to learn how to properly focus and use this muscle memory of yours. It would be better for the missions if you know how to use the skills you possess."

"I understand that," Jonathan replied. "I'm just surprised I'm getting my training from the Agent that's something of a legend around here."

May's eyes narrowed a little at that statement, indicating to Jonathan that he had no doubt hit some kind of nerve. Nevertheless, she continued. "Seeing as how nobody, not even you, knows the full extent of your muscle memory and your fighting capabilities, it would make sense that the senior fighter of this team that has the capabilities to defend herself from a wide array of attacks would train the individual that has no knowledge of the extent of his skills."

Jonathan really had no arguement against that logic. Heck, it made total sense. If he wanted any oppertunity to gain any control of his fighting skills, this was probably the best way to go about it.

"How can you be sure I won't seriously wound you on accident?" Jonathan asked as he slipped a pair of knuckle gloves on.

To his surprise, Agent May smirked in amusement. "Try to hit me, Jonathan."

A new rush of shock and surprise went through Jonathan as he stared at May, a questioning expression evident on his face. "You want to try and... hit you?" He asked in disbelief. May nodded, very much confirming what the amnesiac asset had heard.

He put up his arms in protest. "Agent May, I don't know if..."

"Jonathan," She interrupted in a commanding tone. "Attempt to hit me."

Jonathan could safely say he was entirely torn. He certainly didn't want to hit the senior agent, but May was demanding that he did so. It really was what he felt versus what he was ordered to do, a battle that Jonathan was not liking in the least.

After a few moments, he sighed and shrugged. "Alright, Agent May." He replied. Without much thinking, he slid his left leg forward and right leg back as his hands clenched into fists. As soon as he even thought to punch her, his muscles acted, throwing his balled fist forward with intense speed.

Jonathan thought for sure that May was about to be hit, but to his surprise, she acted even faster. Her forearm shot up almost instantly, easily blocking the jab and she quickly followed up, shooting her free arm forward and impacting the right side of Jonathan's rib cage. Pain flared across Jonathan's chest, causing him to hiss in agony. But that was not stopping his muscle memory.

His unblocked arm shot forward, striking May's mid-section. His instincts tried to follow up, throwing a kick towards her. Unfortunately for the asset, May had already recovered. She quickly caught his incoming leg jab and swept her foot, knocking over Jonathan's free leg.

His body had no time to even recover before May fully turned and threw her balled palm down, impacting his chest. He crashed back first on the mat with such force, every ounce of air he once had shot out of his body instantly.

As Jonathan lay there, back against the cold mat, he couldn't help but feel really shocked and impressed. His muscle memory had taken down multiple well trained soldiers without much trouble, yet May was able to take him down without even breaking a sweat. If that wasn't impressive, Jonathan didn't know what was.

Once it was clear Jonathan was no longer capable of fighting back, May released the weight of her palm and fully stood. "You're a quick adapter to swift changes in fighting techniques," The senior agent told him. "But, you have predictable moves as your main way of combat. Too predictable against combatants like me, making it very easy to defend myself against any and all of your muscle memory attacks." She held out her arm in a gesture to help Jonathan up, which he took.

Jonathan briefly winced at the fresh pain that had coursed throughout his mending ribs and stitches as he stood. After a minute, he spoke. "Well, Agent May," He said. "Let's just say that you've thoroughly convinced me that you can handle whatever I unintentionally throw at you."

She smirked in what was obvious satisfaction. "With that in mind, this means we can start our real training."

"That wasn't the training?" Jonathan asked incredulously.

"Not even close." May replied as she took her place on the combat mat once more. "Like I said, this training is about focusing and perfecting your muscle memory so you have more of a handle on it and so you can do more when the mission calls for it. To start off, we need to start teaching you some more advanced combat techniques."

"Like what?" Jonathan asked as he took his combat position as well.

"We'll start with one of the most important things to fix," She said to him. "Your jabs." Jonathan almost instinctively looked at his calloused and scarred hands as she continued. "If you want to get anywhere in a fight against specially trained hostiles, you can't continue to use basic punches. Before anything else, it's best to prepare you just in case one of your jabs get's caught by your opponent."

Jonathan gave her a curious look. "And how would I..." He was given no time to even finish his sentence before May stepped forward and, with lightning reflexes, threw her fist forward towards the asset. Jonathan instinctively blocked the incoming blow, catching it in a nick of time. But, faster then his eyes can even follow, May shot her free fist forward and slammed it into the asset's chest, once again shifting his mending ribs painfully and knocking the wind out of him. Jonathan fell to his knees, gasping for air as May took her position once more.

"That's how." May replied to the recovering Jonathan.

Jonathan groaned. "You're definitely more of a follow-by-example teacher, aren't you?"

"Have to be for this line of work," came the Agents simple reply. "Your opponents are not going to take it easy on you. This means I can't be any different in training you to fight them. Now," She raised her arms in her combat stance. "Copy what I just did."

The asset felt himself clench his hands into fists as he raised them in stance. His body was currently aching on every ligament imaginable, but strangely, a sense of excitement ran through him. He couldn't explain at all, but he could actually say he was almost looking forward to the training,especially if it meant eventually gaining complete control of his fighting skills.

With that in mind, Jonathan charged forward toward his teacher and hopefully toward complete control of himself.

 **Skye**

Punching and kicking her way out of situations. That was something completely new and intriguing to Skye.

Sure, she had to throw the occasional punch to the skull and kick to the leg throughout her hacking career, but she usually found herself using her hacking skills and her overall charm in her dangerous moments. And heck, if Skye was stuck working alongside SHIELD, she figured she might as well learn from government agents to properly defend herself so she could have a definate fallback plan in situations where hacking and charm could only get you so far.

She started her training hoping that her trainer would kind of ease her into combat and defensive positions, but unfortunately for her, her teacher definitely did not ease her into it. If anything, Ward threw her in with as much force as he could muster, evident by the amount of exercise drills (mostly revolved around pull-ups) that he assigned that she was sure would make even a military sergeant exhausted.

All of this ran through her mind as she continued her string of jabs at the hanging black punching-bag, every landing of her knuckle probably being intently analyzed and judged by Agent Ward, who stood next to her. "Ten seconds." He told her as he continued to pace around, eyesight locked on the form of her arms and jabs. "You know the hardest part about boxing?"

Skye instantly thought back to their last mission end with Jonathan sprawled across the floor, his facial features a canvas of scars and bruises. Definitely did not look very pleasant for her friend. "Getting punched in the face?" She quipped to the agent.

Ward fixed her with a slightly annoyed look before he continued, "Keeping your hands up." His arms lifted as he quickly provided Skye with an example of what he expected.

The hacker scoffed. "Why do I even have to do this?" Skye asked as she attempted to replicate Ward's technique. "I'm sure Fitz-Simmons' Supervising Officer didn't make them do this muscle stuff."

"You said you wanted to be a field agent, like Coulson." Ward replied in his matter-of-fact tone. He slightly shrugged. "Well, if you'd like to switch switch disciplines..." He turned toward the lab where Fitz-Simmons were busy indulging in their research.

"Hey Simmons." He called out, catching the two researchers attention. "What did your S.O. give you guys for morning drills?"

"Oh," Simmons started excitedly. "Atomistic attribute drills. Yeah, we would the name the mechanical, chemical, thermal..."

"Electrical properties of materials," Fitz chipped in.

Skye had already completely lost what the researchers were saying. Based on the look Ward shot at her, he had already guessed on how the situation would end. She shot him a little disgusted look. "Okay, okay," She conceded as she threw a half-hearted punch at the bag. "They made your point." Satisfied, Ward rounded around and held the bag in place as Skye continued her "assault".

"Alright, trying to ease training by comparing mine to researchers that share the mind of Einstein obviously didn't work," Skye said aloud. Her thoughts went to another in almost seconds. "What about Jonathan?" She asked Ward as she jabbed. "It looks like he already knows how to fight. His training is probably going easier just on that fact alone."

Ward let out a snort. "That's definitely not the case with Jonathan's training. In fact, his training may be even tougher then this.'

Skye looked at him and smirked. "What could be harder then you're training regiment? Did you toss him off the plane without a parachute?" Ward didn't speak for a moment, which caused the hacker to cease her jabs. "You...didn't really throw him off the plane, right?"

"No," Ward replied. "But I wouldn't be surprised if that _was_ part of his training, especially with Agent May at the helm."

This actually stopped Skye in her tracks. "You have Agent May training him? The woman who can probably kill a person in one-hundred different ways?"

"Only one qualified to deal with an amnesiac unknown like Jonathan." Ward said. "It only makes sense that HQ assigned her to train him."

"Yeah, I get that," Skye replied. "But after seeing what May is capable of, I can only imagine what her training is like. Hope Jonathan is still able to move at the end of his session."

Ward let out a sigh as he seemingly rolled the thought in his head. "We'll see," He replied before turning his attention back to the task at hand. "Keep your focus on the task in front of you,". He circled around Skye as she continued her jabs. "There will come a moment when you have to commit to this or bail. Every field agent has a defining moment. "Ask Coulson. When you have the make the hard call to ethier dedicate yourself to this or curl up in a ball and run."

Even through the bit of worry she held for her amnesiac friend and his ability to walk after his training, she smirked. "How can you run if you're curled up in a ball?" She asked Ward.

He shot her a look as he moved to adjust her arms. "It's my job as your S.O. to make sure you don't die before then."

Skye spoke to him through her jabs. "So what was yours, Agent Ward?"

"Ten minutes," Ward sternly replied.

"Your defining moment." She replied just as sternly. This time she was met with absolute silence and another one of Ward's dissaproving looks. "Come on, tell me. I want to know." When that got no response, she decided to drill further into the wall that was Ward. "I could get Coulson to give you some of that truth serum," She slyly reminded him. "You could spill your little heart out to me again."

Ward snorted and smirked all at once. "You mean my level one overshare that miraculously got you to cooperate?" A stunned confusion rippled through Skye as Ward continued. "I hate to tell you this rookie, but we don't have truth serum."

The stunned confusion that had already set itself within the hacker's chest quickly evolved into a hard mix of anger and frustration, at SHIELD and herself. They tricked her. They tricked her to gain her trust quickly. It was... a good move. She had been played, which was also an entirely new experience for the hacker.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan really thought he had it the fourth time. He thought that he would actually be able to perform the technique right and get the upper hand on his teacher for once. He thought he could. He was swiftly proven wrong.

He charged forward, his fist rocketing toward it's waiting target. In a near instant, May's arms shot up, blocking his jab from going any further. And in almost an equal speed to May's, Jonathan's free arm jabbed forward, palm fully outstretched for maximum damage. He impacted the center of her chest, causing a grunt of pain and surprise from his teacher.

A wave of surprise and pride rushed through him. He had actually done it. He had gotten the shot on May. His feeling ended as soon as he felt the hard grip of May's hand on his arm. She quickly used her grip to rotate, impacting her elbow against the bridge of Jonathan's nose. A crack of absolute pain exploded throughout his skull as he instantly recoiled.

"Ow!" He shouted as he clutched his now bleeding nose. "What the hell, May?!"

"You didn't put enough force into your jab," May answered. "Allowing me time to quickly recover and retaliate. Put everything you have into it next time to ensure it doesn't happen again." Before Jonathan could even think to answer, she continued. "You also let your guard down as you relished in you're successful hit, allowing me to easily strike. If I was trying to kill you, this opening would have left me enough room to do so. You need to focus on the battle at hand rather then celebrate you're tiny successes."

"You could have just told me this." Jonathan replied as he craned his head towards the ceiling to halt the bleeding.

"Not as effective." May replied with a slight smirk.

Jonathan gave her an annoyed expression. "I'll keep that in mind," He said to her. "Anything else to tell me?"

She remained silent for a moment before speaking. "You're steadily improving. You've already shown willingness to learn and the ability to add on to this muscle memory of yours, not to mention you're progressive rate is exceptionally fast, which we did not account for. You have your problems, but overall, you're learning fast."

Even through the clutching of his throbbing nose, Jonathan looked at her shocked. "Was that a compliment, Agent May?" He asked astoundedly.

She looked at him, smirk apparent. "Savor it while you can." She said to him as her watch let out a sudden ping. She lifted the small device, studied it for a moment, then tapped a small symbol. "Looks like this training session is over," She said as she began to walk towards the room's exit.

"What's the occasion?" Jonathan asked as he followed her out.

She didn't immediatly respond as she raised her watch. She pressed another symbol and spoke. "Changing course," Her voice radiated through every speaker on the plane. "Briefing in three. SHIELD 616 with new orders. Set for Colorado Air Field North." She lifted her finger from the device and continued down the hall. "I have to go disable the auto-pilot and re-route us." She turned to Jonathan. "We just got our next mission."

Pins and needles shot across Jonathan's hands as he processed the news. He didn't even know what emotion to pinpoint and feel at that moment: Pure excitement or pure fear. He was about to enter his third mission for SHIELD. And if the last two gave any indication of how the mission would go, it would probably be just as dangerous as the others had proven to be. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was pure stupidity. Ethier/or, Jonathan found himself quickly making his way toward the briefing center and the next mission at hand.

 **Coulson**

Coulson had to admit, he was always a sucker for letting his teams kind of stew before mission briefings. In his experience, the amount of nerves and emotions that run before the inevitable drop into danger always brought out the strategist and planner in everyone, and it never hurt to have everyone's opinion and tinkers to an overall plan, especially ones that, if failed, could endanger the lives of nearly the entire team. In that sense, Coulson never saw any reason to stop his stewing technique and he certainly wasn't stopping now.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Coulson exited the Briefing Room, mission briefing in hand, and stepped out to the living quarters. Fitz-Simmons were already on the couch facing him, tablets in tow. Skye and Ward had just entered the room, followed closely by Jonathan. His nose was red and swollen, an injury that Coulson had no trouble believing was May's handiwork. Her training caused a fair amount of injuries, but she did get the job done, fast and efficient. Coulson had no problem with the way she ran things. If anyone could handle and train their muscle memory asset, it was Agent May.

Skye had a disheveled and exhausted look to her, sweat peppering her shirt and forehead. He wasn't surprised. Ward had been trained on a hard physical regiment before his recruitment to SHIELD. It made sense that he would pass that training style on to his own student. If Skye wanted to become a field agent, the physical regiment she was going through would certainly help her in that direction.

Once his team was settled, Coulson spoke. "A few minutes ago, a SHIELD transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off Route 76 near Sterling."

Simmons perked up at this. "Priority Red?" She asked in a voice of nervous excitement.

"What is a Priority Red Asset?" Jonathan asked.

"Priority asset," Coulson replied. "A VIP individual of vital importance to SHIELD, usually heavily protected and transported on a daily basis to keep ahead of those who would want access to the individual."

"And one of these assets protective transports was just attacked?" Skye asked. She turned to the team. "This mission is already interesting."

"The asset," Coulson said as he quickly typed into his tablet. "Was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work-"

"Oh, no! Not Frank." Simmons exclaimed, followed nearly in sync from Fitz. "Dr. Hall?" The two SHIELD researchers leaned intently forward, worry now evident by both.

Before anyone could ask, Fitz spoke. "He was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year."

"Yeah," Simmons agreed. "He's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him." She looked directly at Coulson. "We can rescue him, can't we?" She asked in almost a pleading tone.

"He's one of ours," Coulson replied with no second thoughts. "We're going to try."

"And the attackers?" Ward wondered.

"Centipede?" Jonathan asked.

"No," Coulson replied as he looked over the truck's security cameras. "Invisible."

This was met with a shocked silence by the team as they looked at Coulson incredulously. "Wait," Skye spoke up. "Invisible?!" She laughed. "Cool!" Ward glared down at her and Skye's smile vanished. "But terrible."

"Prep for landing," Coulson said as fully turned to the team. "We're going down to conduct our own investigation into these invisible threats. We track them down, we find Hall."

"You make it sound like tracking down an invisible threat will be easy." Jonathan said.

"Never said it would be." Coulson replied. "But if there's anyone who can crack the impossible, it's us."

 **Jonathan**

Saving a high-priority SHIELD scientist by tracking down an invisible threat that single handedly took down an entire SHIELD transport team. He knew that SHIELD specialized in the weird and strange in the world, but he had to say, invisible attackers was one thing that never even crossed his mind. Terrorists? Yes. Enhanced humans? Yes. Corrupt government officials? Yes. Invisible attackers that could throw trucks around like nothing? That, he had to admit, was a little out there and strange. It had to be strange even by SHIELD standards. But that wasn't the most pressing thing on his mind.

With only ten minutes till dropdown, Jonathan stood in front of the weapons locker, scanning each weapon intently. He did not know what weapons to bring with him. How exactly one prepped for combat against an invisible threat was beyond him. He grabbed his Glock pistol without a second thought (His pistol had proven to be quite a valuable thing to have, in his opinion) and was about to run through the weapons a second time when a familier voice spoke up from behind.

"Didn't get to ask you earlier. How goes the training with the Cavalry of SHIELD?"

Jonathan didn't need to turn to know who that voice belonged to. The friendly-poking tone belonged to only one person and one person alone. "Because judging by the way your nose looks," Skye continued. "She's pretty much going all out with her training."

Jonathan chuckled as he turned towards her. "Yeah, May is certainly not one to pull back her punches, especially in her training sessions. I see now why SHIELD calls her the Cavalry. Hate to see what she does all-out against her enemies." He stared at her. "What about you? How fairs training with the all-knowing Agent Ward?"

She scoffed. "Exactly what you would expect. The guy has more physical training exercises then the freaking military. I think I've done more pull-ups then the human body is supposed to be physically capable of."

Jonathan smirked. "Yeah, we should have known. Doesn't matter if we're only associates of SHIELD. They are going to make sure we train to the bone fibers of our asses to be prepared for the littlest chink in the plan, which seems to be a common theme with this team."

Skye chuckled. "Yeah, you can say that again." She stared at him. "So, any particular reason you're absent-mindedly checking out the arsenal?"

Jonathan sighed. "I'm trying to figure out what the hell one brings when there's a chance you might be fighting invisible people. I may have amnesia, but I'm pretty sure I have no experience in this department."

"If it makes you feel any better," Skye replied. "I don't think any of us have experience in that department." She looked to the arsenal. "You want my advice, Jonathan?"

Jonathan turned to her. "Shoot."

"Definitely take a heavy-hitter to go with that pistol." Skye stated. "Maybe a shotgun. And grab another pistol, just in case."

Jonathan gave her a surprised look as he reached for the shotgun. "What makes you so sure?" He asked curiously.

"Experience." Skye replied. "Mostly movies." She ignored the look Jonathan gave her and continued. "The shotgun will pack a hell of a blast. Even if you don't manage to hit someone, that sound is definitely going to disorient the people around you. Gives you a chance to recollect yourself. And pistols just in case they manage to get a solid hold on you."

"That's some pretty good advice," Jonathan said. "Why pass it on to me?"

Skye scoffed as she stood and made her way to the door. "Believe it or not, I'd rather not see you die, Jonathan. I really do not have a lot of friends on this team and I don't plan on losing any. Otherwise, I would just be stuck with the SHIELD uptights. Besides, you said you wanted to find out who you are, right? I figured keeping you alive long enough to find out would be a kindness on my part."

Jonathan found he really had no quarrel with having Skye help him out, especially with her being one-hundred percent accurate about him. He really did want to find out who exactly he was before SHIELD picked him up and he would rather not die before that. He especially had no quarrel with the notion of obtaining a steadfast friend within the team, someone that he could put his trust and rely on. That was important, especially to a current amnesiac like himself.

"Thanks, Skye." He said to her.

She turned back, smiling. "What are friends for?" She asked before continuing down the hall.

Jonathan smirked as he turned back to loading the shotgun. _Friends._ Now that he knew he had no quarrel with.

...

 **Sterling, Colorado**

Last mission, Jonathan was introduced to the supreme humidity of Peru, which he could safely say he wasn't accustomed to at all. He sweat so much in that heat he swore he had lost weight, and the experience of that gave him the assumption that, since he didn't do well in heat, he would do well on the opposite spectrum.

Sterling had proved his theory mortally wrong.

His fingers continuously shifted through the cold night air, trying desperately to keep the heat within his hands as his breath fogged into a cloud in front of his eyes. Goosebumps raced across the entirety of his body as he rubbed his warming palms across his shoulders for a brief minute in a feeble attempt to warm himself. It did nothing. In summary, it was pretty cold.

Even with the thick blanket of cold temperature laid across the cracked highway, the wreckage down the street still exumed long strands of black smoke, still visible to the SHIELD team as they swiftly made their way down towards the disaster site.

"Dr. Hall was an asset?" Skye asked, breaking the walking silence of the team.

"One of a few select scientists SHIELD has been protecting," Coulson answered. "People our enemies would love to get their hands on. We keep them hidden, keep them on the move."

"Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him." Simmons said.

"We don't have him anymore." Coulson solemnly replied.

"If you kept Hall actively hidden and on the move," Jonathan said. "How was someone able to pinpoint the exact road he would be on?"

"As of right now, unknown." Coulson answered. "And it's our job to change that to known."

"And what does Priority Red mean?" Skye asked.

"It means security should have been..." Coulson stopped mid-sentence as a metal groan interrupted him. The team looked toward the source of the sound and were met with the overall shocking sight of a SHIELD SUV, twisted and mangled within the branches of a tree. Out of everything Jonathan had seen so far, he had to say that this was pretty high on the weird list. "Heavy." Coulson finished with a sigh.

Jonathan felt himself bite the inside of his cheek, nervousness evident as he followed the team to the main site of destruction. If Coulson was right, security was heavy, meaning there was probably a fair amount of SUV's there when the transport was attacked. It had to be a truly powerful force to throw every vehicle through the air like that and Jonathan was sure that he did not want to meet whatever was capable of that. That he was sure of.

 **Coulson**

"It was pretty damn scary," Agent Mack replied, a blood soaked bandage against the side of his head. "And I don't spook easily, boss."

"Nothing in the air from above?" May recapped in realitive disbelief beside the head agent. (And Coulson couldn't blame her.)

Mack shook his head. "Nothing over our shoulder," He said with certainty. "But what's scary is... they knew our route."

This caught Coulson's attention in an instant. Every route involved with a Priority Red asset was kept to the highest degree of top secret, known only by a few select agents. He didn't need to pry to know exactly what Agent Mack was getting at. "Are you saying they were working with someone inside SHIELD?"

Mack let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry to say, it had to be."

The head agent took a moment to fully digest what was said. A traitor was never a good thing for any organization, but the fact that it was a SHIELD traitor worsened the situation by ten. SHIELD was an organization that relied heavily on it's secrecy, especially since nearly everything that SHIELD involved itself in was potentially World-Ending in one way or another. A leak in their needed secrecy would definitely not bode well. Coulson knew he had to figure this out and quickly.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the voice of Simmons from the vehicle wreckage. "Fitz, what am I seeing here?" The young scientist now had a pair of glowing green goggles on, waving a humming wand-like device in front of her near the center of the smoking wreckage.

"Well," Fitz said as he approached, the rest of the team following him. "I'm not wearing the full-spectrum goggles I designed, so," He chuckled and turned to the team with a slight shrug. "No clue." The team smirked at the researcher's attempt to impress them as he turned to Simmons. "Let me have a look. Come on."

Simmons suddenly whirled toward them, arms extended forward. "No, whoa, whoa, whoa!" She exclaimed. "Wait! Don't move." She bent toward the cratered street. "Wait a minute."

Beside Coulson, Jonathan suddenly went rigid. He blinked his eyes in fast succession and put his fingers to his nose. The head agent looked at him curiously. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Jonathan turned to him. "Did you feel that?"

Coulson shook his head. "No, I didn't. What did you feel?"

The asset looked around in an almost startled manner. "Like a huge painful spike of adrenaline, just rushing through me. I feel like every part of me is on the edge." He turned to Coulson. "You're telling me you can't feel that?

Before the head agent could respond, a sudden and violent woosh of force took his attention. In front of him was a swirling cloud of dirt, arcing violently throughout the air in an unnatrual dance. The team looked on in pure disbelief.

"What the hell?" Skye asked in shock.

"I think the electro-static field scanner activated some...thing." Simmons said.

The team's overall wonder didn't last long as the sand began to violently shoot out towards them, forcing Ward, May and Skye to duck and dodge. "Okay," Coulson said as he turned back to the swirling mass of sand. "Can we deactivate it? Now?"

Simmons nodded, but as the two researchers went to work on their machines, the sand began to spin even more violently, shooting more projectiles to the team and forcing them all to dodge.

"Have to increase the density!" Fitz called out as he ducked.

"I tried, Fitz!" Simmons yelled back. "But-"

She was interrupted as more sand violently shot their way. "Fitz." May said as she dodged another bolt of sand.

Fitz desperately hit a few more buttons on his small device and made the numbers rise dramatically before it let loose a violent spark of electricity. Fitz yelped and dropped the sparking device to the ground. Just as he did, the violent sand cluster finally stopped altogether and dropped, now completely harmless.

Jonathan, who had been a bit disoriented through the entire test, suddenly straightened. He blinked his eyes a few more times before looking towards the two researchers. "What the hell was all that?" He asked.

"That, Jonathan," Simmons said as she bent down with a small pair of tweezers and picked up something resting at the center of the site. She lifted it up into the light, revealing a small gleaming metal ball. "Was all caused by this."

Coulson reached forward and took the small metal ball with his fingers, bringing it to his eyes. He steadily examined the small source, the source of seemingly all this destruction and chaos. It was not a steel ball. In fact, it seemed to be a small ringed holder of sorts, the lining glowing with blue energy. At it's center was a very small mass of almost liquid metal, churning in the air surrounding the center of the holder. It was like nothing Coulson had ever seen before.

"What is that?" Skye asked.

Coulson spun the small object around with his fingers, looking for any identifying marks. He found none whatsoever. "Something big." He answered solemnly.

 **Jonathan**

If there was one thing that Jonathan knew he had gained throughout the course of his association with SHIELD, it was without a doubt a dangerous sense of curiosity. He felt curiosity about who he was, how he came to know so much about combat and, most importantly of all, what exactly the device was that they recovered. Whatever it was, his body definitely had a problem with it.

Throughout the entire test, Jonathan's body felt like it was continually bombarded by a bizzare-mix of electrical shock and outright adrenaline. Every muscle in his body was tightened beyond comfort, every sense beyond heightened. It was like that machine completely confused the entirety of the body, which confused him to no end. Needless to say, he was more then interested to find out what exactly what that machine was made out of and what connection it had to his body. Lucky for him, he didn't have to push at all to examine the item.

Fitz/Simmons wasted no time diving into extensive evaluation of the object, quickly bringing it to their lab and hooking every microscope and evaluation tech they had to the object. It was currently held in the grasp of a mechanical claw, slowly being risen to Fitz's goggle enhanced gaze. The team waited eagerly in the lab as well, preparing for any revelation made by the two researchers. Whatever this device was, it was an unknown even to SHIELD and everyone was wondering who and what had the capability to design something that small and powerful. Jonathan knew that there was a good chance they would not like the answer.

As Jonathan and Skye watched Fitz center his device onto the mysterious object, Coulson spoke from the side. "Either someone cracked our comm system," He said. "Or Dr. Hall's movements leaked from inside SHIELD."

Jonathan turned to him. "Are you saying there's a possibility that SHIELD has a mole?" Coulson didn't answer, which was enough of an answer for him. "Well," Jonathan sighed as he turned his attention back to the table. "I have a feeling that this mission just got a lot more complicated."

"Yeah," Skye said to him. "Take it from a hacker, moles never make lives for major organizations easy."

Agent May turned to Coulson. "You really think we have a mole?"

"I think you should go through the communication logs," Coulson responded. "Rule it out. We'll work the tractor tread that we found on the scene."

Skye leaned back from the table, looking towards the two agents. "I can do that, instead of pull-ups." She offered. She leaned back to Jonathan. " _Preferably_ instead of pull-ups." She muttered to Jonathan, which produced a chuckle from him. She stood and moved toward the agents. "I can upload an image of the tread pattern, check to see if there's any sort of-"

"Already done." Ward said as he entered the room and laid out a tablet on the table. "Matched it to a 2010 model. Found a list of purchasers within a five-hundred mile radius," He tapped the tablet, bringing the screen in front of the team to life. "Narrowed down to those with priors, financial troubles, or propensity for risk-taking." He pointed to the screen as three images popped up, each portraying a mug-shot of grimy and disgruntled individuals. "Three suspects."

Coulson stepped forward. "Who may have sold their construction equipment to the kidnappers."

"They look like the kind of people who would sell their equipment, no questions asked." Jonathan inputted.

"We'll ask." Coulson responded as the screen closed.

As Ward moved out of the lab and Jonathan moved himself back to the table, he saw Skye turn back to Coulson, arms crossed. "Hey, so, Ward said a funny thing. He said you guys don't have a truth serum."

Coulson's trademark unreadable smirk returned to his face. "Did he? Ward said that?"

"Yeah." Skye replied, her tone evident she was waiting for explanation.

Coulson nodded. "Interesting."

"Yeah." Skye said impatiantly before Coulson turned and began walking out of the lab. She looked on in incredilous disbelief. "Hey! What-"

Jonathan couldn't help but smirk and chuckle as he looked up at the baffled hacker. She locked eyes with him and gave him an annoyed expression. It was obvious that they were both thinking the same thing. _Coulson._

Before anything could be said, May appeared, ten pounds of paperwork in her hands. "Hey." She approached Skye and dropped it into her arms.

Skye looked down at the paper then back at May. "Do you want me to bench press this?"

"Read it." May replied, smirking. "Every communication out of HQ since they decided to transfer Doctor Hall." The senior agent moved away from the stunned asset and towards Jonathan. "You're with me."

Jonathan was a bit taken aback as he moved towards May. "Any particular reason?" He asked.

"We're conducting a series of tests." May said. "The object we recovered visibly affected you. We intend to find out exactly why that is."

Jonathan felt he would have argued more if he had no curiosity towards that subject what-so-ever. As it stood, he currently felt the complete opposite. "Is this going to hurt?" He asked in a slight comedic tone.

"You took multiple punches from multiple soldiers last mission," The agent replied. "I think you'll be able to handle this."

Finding no real arguement with that logic, he followed her to the exit of the lab and towards whatever test Coulson had in mind.

"Good luck in your endeavor." Skye said to him as he left the lab.

"Good luck in yours." Jonathan replied.

He heard her sigh and the papers rustle as she moved. "Hang in there, Doc. It's going to be a while."

 **Ward**

Ward knew the only emotion the wanna-be cowboy would feel is shock at the sight of a well dressed man with a red car blocking his path. And Ward would be totally fine with that. What they needed was their target focused mainly on Coulson and away from him and the agent had little doubt that Coulson would be able to draw attention to himself.

They didn't have to wait long for their target, who came bounding down the slope on horseback and begin to slow in front of Coulson, a cloud of pure dust swirling around him.

"Excuse me." Coulson said as the cowboy came to a complete stop in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?" The man demanded.

"A concerned citizen who happens to be a member of a giant bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move." The head agent replied.

The man looked at him, confused. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"Of course not," Coulson said. "But you sold your excavator to some people who did." Even from a ways behind, Ward could see the sudden change in expression of the man, one of annoyance. If Coulson noticed this, he gave no indication as he removed his glasses. "And you're hiding out here until things cool down because you know it." He stepped forward. "I just want to know who paid you."

The man wasted no time quickly reaching to his side, drawing a sleek metal shotgun and leveling it at the head agent. Ward quickly flanked to the side of the horse and crept his way toward the man as he spoke. "Paid me enough not to answer any questions like that." He growled.

Before the man could even think about pulling the trigger, Ward made his move. He quickly reached up, took hold of the sleek weapon and swung it towards the ground, carrying the man with it. The cowboy let out a grunt of surprise and pain as he fell to the ground, scattering a fair amount of dust through the air. Ward swivled the obtained shotgun around and leveled it at the man, pumping it. Mission accomplished.

"Feel's like the Old West." Ward told his superior as he neared the man.

"They gave me money for my equipment," The man said suddenly. "That's all. I never saw a face. I never heard a name."

"And how did you receive this money?" Coulson asked. "They write you a check?"

The man instantly pointed to a bag strapped to the horse. Ward reached forward, unstrapped it and dumped it towards the ground. Seven or eight golden bars clomped to the ground, shining in the afternoon Sun. Ward and Coulson looked down at the bars and back up at each other.

"Paid you in gold?" Coulson asked as he picked one up.

"Now it really feels like the Old West." Ward said.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan was fairly certain that he had been testing for a good hour or so and he was no closer to figuring out what exactly these tests were accomplishing. The entire time, his left and right arm was encased in a massive pair of gauntlets that steadily tightened over time. His arms were lined with wires that connected back to the moniters, which were closely evaluated by Agent May.

May clicked on another keyboard and turned towards Jonathan. "Last test, Jonathan. Are you ready?"

He sighed and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

May nodded and clicked at the keyboard again. The familier whir of the machines filled his ears again as his arms once again began to tighten in response to a pressure within the gauntletts. And, once again, he felt the spark of energy run across his arms, but, to his surprise, stronger then ever before. He had felt it the last couple of tests, but it had been a small throb. He thought it was just because his arms weren't used to the double pressure of the gauntlets, but this seemed almost... familier in a way.

He found himself flexing his hands as they began to throb, almost as if he had pressed his hands into burning hot water and soaked them in ice at the same time. Before he could even fully describe what he was experiencing, the whir completely halted and the energy running through is palms ceased. The pressure fully released from his arms and he felt them quickly move away from the equipment. He studied his hands with renewed interest, looking for any visual signs of what he felt.

His skin looked the same color. It didn't blister or swell or anything. It looked exactly the same as before. Jonathan felt both confused and frustrated. He knew he had felt something, he knew that his senses felt a bit off in that final stage. What the hell was happening to him?

May approached him. "Are you okay?" She asked as Jonathan continued to study himself in a confused manner.

He turned to her. "May, I felt it. Whatever that final test was, it accessed that feeling again. It was like an electrical charge of pure adrenaline across my arms." He turned to her. "What exactly were those gauntlets designed to test?"

"From what Fitz and Simmons said," May replied. "The gauntlets were designed to gage one's biological responses to pressure changes within the air itself, apparantly ranging from wind shifts to gravitational pull."

"So, what was the difference between the last nine tests and this one?" Jonathan asked.

"That is a question for our researchers." May said. "The gauntlets and tests was designed by Fitz/Simmons and only they know the presets and schematics they set."

"Where are they?" Jonathan asked, pure curiosity now driving him.

"The lab." May said as she led him towards the hanger. "Coulson and Ward just brought in our first lead."

...

"It looks like this because it's a dor'e bar." Simmons said as she ran her small mechanized scanner over one of the golden bars laid out across the table. "It means it was made at the mine rather then in a refinery. It's only about 92% pure. The cowboy got cheated a bit."

"Can you determine the mine based on the impurities?" Coulson asked.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah." Fitz confirmed as he moved towards the monitors and clicked at the keyboards. "We've done that already."

"You think you can track the attackers down by tracing the way they pay?" Jonathan asked the head agent.

"That's the hope." Coulson confirmed to the asset.

Fitz continued on the keyboard before turning to the agent. "It's from the Dacey Mine in Tanzania," He relayed. "Which is owned by-"

"Quinn Worldwide." Coulson finished.

At the immediate mention of those words, Jonathan felt a sudden spike of pain ripple across his skull, lasting for milliseconds before completely dissapearing. _What the hell was that?,_ the asset thought to himself. Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried to focus. "What exactly is Quinn Worldwide?" Jonathan asked.

"It's a proclaimed national mining company," Coulson replied. "Specialized in digging up the rare treasures and resources the Earth has to offer. Or at least that's what their namesake claims." He turned to the two SHIELD researchers. "I'm sure you studied the CEO in your chemical engineering class or saw him on the cover of _Forbes_. Ian Quinn."

"Billionaire philanthropist?" Jonathan guessed as Coulson headed out of the lab.

"The worst kind." Coulson confirmed before he dissapeared up the stairway.

His thoughts went to why his mind reacted like that to the mention of a billionare's company and what connection he would have to it before he remembered the more pressing matter at hand.

"About your gauntlet tests..." Jonathan spoke up to the two researchers.

Simmons almost instantly whirled around, excitement in her eyes. "Was one of our tests able to access this static you've been feeling?"

Jonathan slightly jumped at the researchers sudden excitement before he continued. "Actually, yeah. The tenth test triggered the static in it's entirety."

"Fantastic!" Simmons exclaimed as she quickly turned to Fitz. "Fitz, tenth test is you."

"Tenth got a reaction?" Fitz asked in excitement. Simmons nodded, prompting Fitz to turn to his tablet and begin typing and swiping for a good minute before stopping. "Here we go. Gauntlet Test Ten was engineered a subjects biological responses to pulls and drops in both magnetic and air pressure. Main evaluation includes changes within the subject's blood stream and muscle responses."

"Are you saying his biological reaction was natural?" Simmons asked.

"Based on what our readings are telling us?" Fitz asked. "His body's response system may very well constitute it as natural."

Jonathan felt a rush of energy run through him. He wasn't a scientist, (And he was damn sure of that) but it didn't take a genius mind to know that what the two researchers were talking about did not constitute him as a person of the normal varioty. "Wait," Jonathan asked, holding up his hand. "What are you saying?"

"According to our research and what you've said," Fitz explained. "You experienced you're spikes in two crucial moments: one near the device, which seems to be able to warp the air itself. And one during the gauntlet trial, which is literally designed to warp the air pressure around the subject."

"Which means one thing." Simmons continued. "Your body senses are on a whole different level then ours. For some unknown reason, your biology has evolved a sense to tell it when the air changes around it, reacting to the changes by producing these spikes of adrenaline. Why?" The researchers looked to each other then back to the asset. "We really don't know."

For the first time since he had awakened in the flaming building with no memory at all, Jonathan felt truly baffled. His senses were heightened to feel dramatic changes in pressure around him? Why? How? He had agreed to take the tests in the hope that his questions would be answered. As it turned out, he was handed more questions then anything else. And that was not a good feeling.

 **Franklin Hall**

He had been sitting in silence for hours now, the binds scratching painfully against his skin as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. The sense of not knowing where the hell he was was absolutely torturing him, the only defining features of the room being the beeping monitors and the clicking machines, sprawled across the white painted room.

But he didn't have that sense for long, as the door behind him swung open and a familier voice filled his ears. "Why is he tied up?"

Hall felt himself almost instinctivly sigh. "Quinn." He said aloud.

"Does he look like a threat?" Quinn demanded behind him and at his cronies. Hall suddenly felt his arms shift slightly up as a knife point swiftly sliced through his binds and release him.

"I'm sorry about these guys." The billionare said, coming fully into view. He reached out and grabbed the closest wheelie chair, moving it up in front of the scientist. They both stared at each other for a moment, not uttering a word. Then they chuckled in spite of themselves, the ice seemingly in front of them shattering. "Welcome to the Malta, Frank."

"You know, it's one thing to steal my _ideas,_ Ian," Hall said. "But stealing _me_?" He shook his head in dissapointment.

"First of all, I never stole your ideas." Quinn replied. "We've always agreed that information should be free."

"It's amazing how much money you made off of free information." The scientist replied coldly.

"Secondly, think of this as a rescue mission, Frank. In fact," The billonare pointed an accusing finger at Hall. "In a moment, I think you'll be thanking me." Hall felt himself roll his tongue in curiosity. What was he getting at? "My staff intercepted a communication about the movement of a certain asset and when I deduced that asset was you," He shrugged as he moved off of his chair. "I couldn't pass up on the opportunity. It's a little out of my comfort zone, sure."

Hall nodded as he stood as well. "Malta," He mused. "You're not stupid. SHIELD can't come after you here."

Quinn smiled as he took out a bottle. "Not just SHIELD. I am now a naturalized citizen of this fair country. Stunning beaches, beautiful tax laws, and a deep seated hatred of outside forces telling them what to do."

"Sounds like your dating profile." Hall replied as Quinn poured the drinks.

Quinn laughed. "Right. I moved my entire operation down here. Bought the old Prime Minister's estate. It's not really my style, but it had this huge underground facility, so I figured, hey."

The scientist sighed once more. "Always been a stubborn bastard." He said as Quinn brought over the drinks. "Now you've finally found a place where the watchdogs can't touch you."

Quinn smirked as they clanked glasses. "Not without breaking international law." They both took a drink, sighing and savoring in the taste of the alcohal. "But more importantly, old friend, they can't touch you."

Hall looked up at him in curiosity as Quinn pulled out a small metal device and placed it on the table. "Recognize the design?" He asked. To Hall's complete shock, he did. It looked the same designs that... "We were barely old enough to drink when you sketched the blueprint." Quinn confirmed. "That's just a miniature prototype. A theoretical machine powered by a theoretical substance." He smiled once more. "Frank, you were right."

Hall felt himself smile and ask the question he knew he knew that answer to. "You found it?"

 **Skye**

"Gravitonium." Fitz exclaimed to Skye and Jonathan as the screen behind him spun with the diagnostics of the element. "It's an extremely rare high-atomic numbered element."

"That powers the device." Simmons finished. "It's so extremely rare that most people didn't believe it existed, much less the theory that an isolated positive charge-"

"Would turn the flow from the isotropic-" Fitz attempted to continue.

"Guys," Skye interuppted, pointing to herself. "High-school dropout."

Jonathan pointed to himself beside her. "Amnesiac."

"How does the device work again?" Skye asked.

Simmons stepped forward. "Well, Gravitonium distorts gravity fields within itself, causing an undulating, amorphous shape."

Fitz stepped up. "Which causes these, uh, wiggly bits here, but when an electrical current is applied, the gravitonium," Fitz slowly put his palms together and connected them. "Solidifies. And those gravity fields erupt, randomly changing the rules of gravity around it."

Skye turned to Jonathan, a completely confused expression on her face. Jonathan shot a similer look back at her (Thank God she wasn't the only one) before she turned back to the researchers.

"Well" Fitz continued as he approached his monitor. "So, now you can imagine what would happen to a big rig at 100 kilometers per hour. Or, uh, you can just remember, cause we saw it already, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Simmons confirmed. "And guess which genius published every theory about gravitonium and possible applications- years ago."

"Doctor Franklin Hall." Skye and Jonathan answered at once.

"Correct." Fitz confirmed. "And Dr. Hall attended the University of Cambridge at the same time as Ian Quinn."

"So, there is a definite connection." Jonathan said.

"Probably." Simmons confirmed.

Skye looked to her friends and felt herself bite her lip in nervousness. "Coulson may be off on this." She said. "Quinn is a notoriously good guy. His charity endowments something like eight billion dollars."

"Yes," Simmons replied. "With money made from leeching the Earth of it's resources. Looks like he's dug up another."

...

"The man's a prisoner," Coulson said to the team just as Skye walked in to the debriefing room. "And it's up to us to get him out."

"We've checked the specs." Ward replied as he rounded the table they all surrounded. "There's no way into Quinn's compound without a large SHIELD strike-force or a man inside. He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property."

"They'll never allow a strike force into Malta." Coulson replied.

"So can't we sneak someone in?" Jonathan asked.

"Too risky." Coulson replied. "Quinn Worldwide's got it's annual shareholders gathering. Security is going to be beyond tight. We'd risk global outrage if we're caught. But-"

"If we go in alone," May piped up.

"SHIELD can disavow us." Coulson confirmed. "Claim ignorance."

May let out an audible frustrated sigh. "Without a man inside, it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions."

Fitz sighed as well. "If we had a monkey, we could get in."

Skye and what she felt was probably the entire team fixed him with a confused look. "Ugh, Fitz!" Simmons exclaimed, running her hands through her hair.

"If we had a small monkey, he could slip through the sensors and disable the fence's power source with his adorable little hands." Fitz said.

Skye flipped through her phone one last time, then looked up at the struggling team. "I could go in."

"Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta," Ward said as he stepped forward, completely ignoring Skye. "I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover-"

"We don't have a few weeks, Ward." Jonathan said, frustration in his voice.

"He's right." Coulson confirmed. "We don't have that kind of time."

"And to restate," Simmons said. "Any agent of SHIELD caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets- legally."

Not willing to be ignored again, Skye stepped forward and towards the table. "Not me. I could go in."

"Skye," Ward growled. "This is serious."

"So quick to shoot us down," Jonathan growled. "At least hear her out, Ward."

Ward turned to the asset, anger in his expression. "Skye is still in training. Do you really think we could just drop her in with no support and-"

"Wait," Coulson interuppted, stepping towards Skye. "What are you saying?"

"Well," Skye replied, happy to be given some heed. "I'm not an agent of SHIELD, so I can go in without breaking all these stupid rules."

"International laws." Simmons corrected.

"This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye." Ward replied.

"Did you hear the deadly lasers part?" Fitz chimed in. "Without a brave monkey-"

"You said you could go in with a man inside." Skye boldly replied, frustrated at all the excuses being thrown her way.

"And you want to be that man?" May asked.

"Fitz-Simmons love the guy," The hacker pointed out. "And he needs help. They could be torturing him, or worse, making him do strength-training."

Even with her eyes on her phone, Skye could see a smirk cross Jonathan's expression, which made Skye smile. There was nothing that beat the feeling of a friend sharing in your jab.

"But you don't have the background or clearance or experience with any of this." Ward angrily exclaimed as he approached her.

"I know," Skye calmly replied. She then placed her phone in her hand and presented it screen-up at Ward. "But I've got an invitation." The pure shock that settled across everyone's faces made Skye laugh out loud. She had managed to impress a specalized SHIELD task force to no words. That was impressive even by her standards. "Well, technically it's an E-Vite."

 **Coulson**

Coulson reached forward and began shifting his arm through the wall of pressed and hanging suits, his eyes scanning for the ideal one for the mission. "I understand your concern," Coulson said to the agent behind him as he examined one of his choices. "But we don't have a lot of options."

Ward sighed beside him. "Hey, I'm impressed. She just wrangled an invitation on her phone using insider back-channel voodoo in minutes. But sending her in with no training," He sighed once more, visibly frustrated that Coulson was paying more heed to his suit then Ward's words. "You're taking a huge risk."

Coulson finally made his decision (His lovely Dolce and Cabanna piece) and made his way back to his main office, followed by Agent Ward. "I know Director Fury felt he owed you after you sacrificed yourself."

"And my card collection." Coulson added.

"He gave you some autonomy," Ward replied. "But Skye on a covert op?"

Coulson laid his new suit out on the top of his desk. "Are you worried about her safety or her loyalty?"

"Both." Came Wards quick reply. "The Rising Tide is the reason she got the invite. Who knows how many protocols she violated?"

"That's the job of both of our assets." Coulson replied, looking up at him. "Ignore protocol, find connections and back doors that no one else can see."

"We don't even know if their loyalties fully lie with SHIELD," Ward argued. "Letting them both on a secret op is a risk on it's own. Skye could tip off the Rising Tide or Jonathan could sabotage the operation without even realizing it as a Centipede sleeper agent."

"They've shown to be trustworthy so far," Coulson said. "I see no reason to start doubting them now." He looked up at Ward and back down to his paperwork. "Something else is bothering you."

Ward paced away from Coulson's desk, letting out an audible sigh. "She's holding back, sir. She says she wants to be an agent, but she won't commit. She doesn't listen, makes jokes."

"Were you hard on her?" Coulson asked.

"Sure." Ward confessed. "I tried playing nice, too. I need a new strategy."

Coulson closed up his laptop and looked back up at the agent. "Try no strategy." Coulson didn't even need to look at the agent's expression to know that he had to go more in depth. "Stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person." He leaned against the front of his desk. "Maybe Skye will let that person help her."

Ward gave him a curious look. "Help her what?"

"Help her think like an operative." Coulson replied.

 **Jonathan**

"Confidence" was the first thing that came to Jonathan's mind as he entered the briefing room once more. Last time they massed together, they had no plan and no real want to charge headfirst into a compound where it's legal to execute a SHIELD Operative. Now that they had a solid way in, the team was buzzing with the confidence and energy to begin their assault on the compound. And Jonathan couldn't say he didn't feel the same way.

Coulson stood at the front monitor, tablet in hand and unreadable expression equipped as the team piled in. Once they all stood ready and at attention, he spoke. "Let's go over the plan." He swiped his hand across his tablet, bring a satellite image of the compound on screen. "Skye will walk in through the front door, portraying herself as a guest to the company. She'll be accomponied by Jonathan, her bodyguard."

Skye turned to her fellow asset, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. "Bodyguard?"

Jonathan smirked and shrugged. "Every guest going there is high profile, so they're all probably bringing bodyguards of their own. I'll make you more believable. Plus, you need someone to watch your back in case things get hairy and I figured I owed you enough to do you that favor."

Skye seemingly thought it over for a second then shrugged. "Can't argue with that."

"The only external access point to Quinn's underground facility," Coulson continued as the schematics changed in front of him. "Is from a beach cove. A two-man extraction team could slip in there, but it's not easy." He turned back to the team. "Fitz-Simmons."

Fitz quickly moved to the top screen, tapping away at his tablet and changing it to a specialized blueprint of the surrounding high-tech fence. "The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot-high neodymium laser grid." He looked to the group. "Touch it and you're toast."

"Dead toast." Coulson clarified, causing most of the team to look to the ground in anxiety. "The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn's too smart to allow any wireless access on his property."

"That's where we come in." Skye said, pointing to Jonathan as well.

"Yes," Simmons confirmed as she approached both of them, open case in hand. "Working compact, holds up under x-ray."

Fitz reached in and brought up a small pocket-mirror, carefully handing it to Skye. "Desert Rose to match your complexion," He explained. "But oh... what's this?" His finger pressed against the side of the item and a line of glowing red dots shot up the side of the mirror. "A readout, okay?" The red lights almost instantly switched sides and colors, now glowing green. "Turns green if you're in close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access."

"When it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out. We'll do the rest. Easy as pie." Simmons confirmed.

Fitz reached in a second time and pulled out, to Jonathan's surprise, a white-and-black Rolex watch. "You're going to a party full of the wealthiest buisness owners you can imagine," Fitz said as he showed off the watch to the asset. "This won't look out of place."

"It won't look out of place," Simmons said. "But it's definitely not one in the same." She lined her finger along the sides of the Rolex and the watch instantly began to change. The arms connected together as the sides began to glow and showcase the yellow glowing lights. The Rolex let out a beep and both arms suddenly pointed up and towards the monitors.

"It's a tracker," Fitz explained to a confused Jonathan. "A router tracker, to be exact. It's able to scan the surrounding area, locate the closest signal and guide you right to it."

"However, it does severly disrupt electronics in the facility to the point that it will become quite obvious to the monitors that somebody has a powerful electronic with them." Simmons warned.

"So keep it out of the public and camera's eyes when you activate it." Fitz added as he handed it off to Jonathan.

Jonathan placed and tightened it to his wrist before running his index finger down the side of the watch. It clicked once more as the arms quickly seperated and the lights dimmed, reverting it back to it's regular Rolex look.

"Sounds good." The asset replied as he lowered his arm.

"It will be good if you stick to the plan." Ward said.

Jonathan fixed the agent with a frustrated look, mimicking his actual feelings towards the agent excessive habit of cutting both him and Skye down, as Skye spoke beside him.

"We got it." She replied in an annoyed tone. "Plan, track, green, drop, walk, pie."

"Easy." Jonathan agreed as he followed his fellow asset to the monitors. He didn't want to say aloud, especially in front of Ward (rather not give him more ammo), but Jonathan knew for an absolute fact that it was probably going to be easier said then done.

 **May**

The team dispersing gave May the chance to stop in front of the leaving Coulson and talk. "I don't want to question your orders, sir." May said to him.

Coulson looked up at her. "Good." He replied before attempting to move past her once more.

May called back to him. "But I've already seen far more combat then I bargained for. This two-man extraction team? It's exactly the kind of action I was hoping to avoid."

Coulson turned to her. "That's why you're not on it."

May shot him an annoyed look. "Specialist work is different then field work, believe me. When was the last time you-"

"Hall's one of ours and he's in trouble." Coulson replied. "I need two men to get him out. Ward makes one." A moment of intense silence passed between the two senior agents before Coulson spoke again. "So that's why I'm going in. You forget- I saw plenty of action with the Avengers."

"And you died." May muttered as Coulson walked off.

 **...**

 **Republic of Malta**

 **Jonathan**

"Maybe it's just me," Jonathan said as he continued to shift around uncomfotably in the back of the taxi. "But I definitely feel a bet overdressed for the part." The amnesiac asset was now sporting a two-piece black button suit, complete with cufflinks. He didn't know why, but he just felt weird in the suit. It almost felt unnatural, actually.

"You're a wealthy woman's bodyguard at a wealthy party," Skye replied in her poking tone. "There's no such thing as overdressed when it comes to the one percent." She was clad in a simple pink dress that swept down to her knees and her long brown hair was now curled toward the bottom (To really capture the wealth look).

He sighed. "You're probably right. They'll probably find me more under-dressed then anything else."

Skye chuckled. "Such is the way of the wealthy."

Jonathan chuckled as well. "Agreed." He suddenly caught sight of their intended location. "Speaking of the way of the wealthy." He said, prompting Skye to look out as well.

The taxi was moving up the driveway of a large housing structure, peppered with intricate designs and multiple balcony's. The two large doors were swung open, welcoming the arriving wave of wealthy individuals into the massive structure.

The taxi came to a stop in front of the structure and the assets exited, still sizing up the house.

Jonathan clicked his tongue. "Grand." He commented.

"That's one way to put it." Skye replied as she closed the car door. She turned to Jonathan. "How do I look?"

"Pretty and wealthy." Jonathan replied. "How do I look?"

"Dapper and intimidating." Skye answered as they both ascended the steps.

"Alright, that's one part of our jobs nailed." Jonathan turned to the structure. "Now comes the fun part."

...

He didn't expect the fun part to actually start off fun.

Jonathan expected a certain visual as he entered the complex. He imagined snooty full-of-themselves wealthy people, bragging around large tables, clanking glasses and laughing. In some ways, he got that. The area was full of talking wealthy people, all talking about their different buisness ventures and all of that. What he didn't expect was waiters swinging by them, offering them free drinks and food.

The second they walked in, a waitress greeted them, drinks in hand. Skye smiled and thanked her, taking two of the bubbling champagne glasses and handing one back to Jonathan. The asset fixed her with a questioning look. She gave a small sigh and hoisted the drink to him again. Jonathan's curiosity became too much and he took the drink in hand. He took a sip and felt his eyes widen at the pure tasty mix of apple and pineapple of the drink. That was delicious.

They hadn't even made it a full ten steps forward before another waiter stepped forward, plate in hand. "Hors De'Oeuvre?" The man asked, presenting the food forward. Seeing no reason to deny him, both Skye and Jonathan took one. Taking a bite into it, a barrage of flavors danced across Jonathan's tongue, offering a really satisfying experience to the food.

"Full disclosure," Jonathan said to his partner. "I don't think I would mind being a bit wealthy myself if this is what it means."

Skye smirked. "I'm thinking the same thing." She replied.

"Who are you?" A sudden voice caught them both by surprise and both assets turned to find an older looking man, his beard and hair as white as snow and thick glasses locked on them. Before ethier of them had a chance to respond, a man quickly ran up to them.

"Oh," The running man stated. "Apologies for his manners. He knows very little English."

"Oh," Skye said beside Jonathan as he crossed his arms and tried to look intimidating. "That's, uh, that's whatever." She reached her hand forward. "Skye. This is my bodyguard, Jonathan." Jonathan gave a silent nod to them as they continued to shake the hacker's hand.

"Qasim Zaghlul." The man introduced himself.

Almost instantly, Jonathan's earpiece crackled and the voice of May came through. "Zaghlul. Built half of Dubai and the Arabian Blade."

"Big fan." Skye said to him with a smile. "You built half of Dubai and the Arabian Blade. I love that building. It's super sci-fi."

"Married." May's voice came through again.

"Where's your wife?" Skye asked.

"Wife's name's Nadrah."

"Nadrah?" The hacker repeated.

"Twin sons."

Skye gave the man a sympathetic look. "Staying at home with the boys?"

Qasim smiled and responded as Jonathan looked on in shock at how well Skye was playing it off. The way she spoke was as if the words were her own and her body language displayed her exact tone with her words. If she wasn't a hacker, Jonathan was sure she could have made one hell of an actress.

The man said a few more uncaught words by Jonathan and Skye laughed in response. "The pleasure was all mine." She said as she nodded at them and moved away.

Jonathan smiled at her. "Great job." He complimented.

She smirked at him as her hand went to her earpiece. "I could get used to this, people. It's like Siri if it worked."

As Jonathan continued to walk, he felt another painful spike behind his eyes and a throb in his skull. A feeling of strange familiarity rushed through him, almost as if...

His head throbbed painfully once again and as he shut his eyes in agony, an image appeared through the darkness. He was at the same housing structure, walking at a brisk pace toward the main building. Beside him was... the woman. The same woman that had approached him in the hospital. Same dress, same hair, same look. She kept at Jonathan's pace as they continued towards the house, all the while speaking to him.

 _"If we're going to make this work, we need his financing. There's no question about that. And I need you at my side for this one, just in case the entitled billonare decides to lash out. You got it?"_ Jonathan felt himself nod and the woman nodded as well. _"Good. Shall we get started then?"_

Jonathan felt his eyes shoot open and he steadied himself against one of the tables, feeling himself lean. Sweat ran down his forehead as his hearing focused back on the communicator and Skye beside him.

"Steady, Jonathan." Skye said as she helped him against the table. "Are you okay?"

The asset blinked as he set two of his fingers at the bridge of his nose. "Yeah," He lied. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Skye asked him.

He shook his head one last time as he fully stood. "I'm okay, Skye." He confirmed. "Really."

She gave one last worried glance before her familier smile returned. "Well, that's good to hear, because I just got eyes on Quinn." Her fingers went to her earpiece. "Skipper to Bravo. I got eyes on top dog. The eagle is landing on it."

The communicator cracked once more and the confused voice of Simmons came through. "What are you doing?"

"Uh," Skye stuttered. "Sorry. I- I don't know. I see Quinn, I'm going to go talk to him."

Jonathan smirked and gave her a thumbs and she shot back with a dirty look as the two assets approached Quinn. Jonathan was glad he was able to make such a quick recovery as compared to last time. It was like he never even partially black out. It was still bothering him though, what he saw. What reason would he have for assisting that woman with obtaining financing from Quinn? Why would he do it? Fortunately, his pressing thoughts were interuppted by the interaction with Quinn.

"Ian Quinn." Skye exclaimed as she walked up to him. "We're you're last minute party crashers. Skye." She shook his hand. "This is Jonathan, my bodyguard." Quinn studied him for a moment before shaking his hand as well, though he kept his eyes locked on Jonathan for a good amount of time before releasing his grip. What was that about?, Jonathan mentally asked himself.

"Oh," Quinn said, looking at both Skye and Jonathan. "Wow. Great to meet you. Um," He turned to the group surrounding him. "This is Skye, a member of the Rising Tide. They're a group of hackers." Skye waved as the group's attention focused on her. "Gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public."

"I prefer the term 'hacktivist'." Skye explained to the group. She turned to Quinn. "I'm glad you heard of our site."

"I read it." Quinn replied. "We think very much alike. More freedom for information, less government infringing on everyone's rights. I'm a fan."

"That explains the invite." Skye said. "This is a tough party to get into."

Quinn smirked. "Not as hard as getting into the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite."

Skye let out a small chuckle. "That's sort of where I live."

"You've got to show me how to do that," Quinn said with a smile. "I mean, if you sign on."

Jonathan felt confusion hit him, probably the same time it hit Skye. "Sign what, now?" She asked.

Quinn looked at her. "I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking."

Skye looked flabbergasted. "Are- are you offering me a job?"

"Well, I didn't invite you here for you're pretty face," Quinn replied. "I didn't know you had a pretty face." For some reason, Jonathan was not liking the tone in his voice. "Yes, I want to hire you before someone else snatches you up." With that, Quinn quickly made his way to the stage at the center of the yard.

Skye looked after him, confusion and awe in her eyes. "Are you okay?" Jonathan asked her.

She looked up at him for a moment, then spoke. "I'm fine. I'm okay." She responded.

"That seemed to go well." May said through the communicator.

"Yeah," Skye replied as clapping started up. "It did."

Before they could do anything else, Quinn's voice rose up on the speakers, echoing through his massive yard. "Many of you shareholders have been with us for years, and I see a few new names here, but I want to thank you all for traveling so far to this beutiful country and, well, for slumming it at Shaba Tel-Banar." That caused a few laughs among the crowds. "This country, where we are allowed to pursue progress and profit without the stranglehold of regulations that are now choking our world." The screen behind began to change and display the logo of every organization he named. "The US Government, the E.U., the DRTC, SHIELD. These are just a few of the institutions guilty of halting the development of new technology for anyone, except themselves.

"We dare defy them with a new idea, they steal in and sweep it out from under us. But not today. You're all aware of what Quinn Worldwide has been able to do with basic minerals, let alone uranium or plutonium, despite these unjust restrictions that weigh the scales in the other guys favor."

That was all Jonathan got (or really needed) to hear before Skye quickly came up beside him. "They just made landfall." She whispered in his ear.

Without wasting a second, Jonathan quickly followed Skye to the nearest clearing in the group, away from the wealthy and the cameras. He took a cautionary second look around before bringing up his arm. "We're clear." He said as he ran his index finger down the side of his Rolex. The arms instantly began to whir and the lights shined as the connected arms pointed South-north. They had a heading.

They began to quitely make their way through the crowd and towards the building when out of nowhere, Jonathan's had throbbed once more. He tried to ignore it, knowing that they had to push on, but the pounding became steadily worse. Right as they reached the steps of the building, Jonathan's head let loose one more violent throb. The asset clutched his head in absolute pain, but as he did that, something strange occured. His eyes seemingly locked on the side of the building, never leaving for a second. As he did that, a voice echoed through his head, grainy and scattered.

 _"Hide it to the side, Jonathan... failsafe... only way to be sure... we're always going to be watching."_

This time, he had no doubt. There was something there. Something important.

He quickly broke away from the stairs and quickly moved towards the side of the structure.

"Jonathan, where are you going?" Skye demanded.

He turned to her. "There's something here, Skye. I don't know what the hell it is, but I think I've been here before and I placed something here. Something related to Centipede. Go, take down the fence! I'll be right behind you!"

Skye hesitated for a second before she turned and quickly entered the building as Jonathan continued his way to the side and, hopefully, a piece of his past.

 **Skye**

Skye had a lot of emotions running through her at that moment: She was conflicted about what she wanted, stressed about what she had to do and worried for Jonathan, all at the same time. It was definitely not a fun experience for her.

She tried to push these thoughts to the side as she continued down the halls of the building, searching for any sign of the wireless signal. She was just about to lose any hope she had of finding a signal when her mirror began to steadily beep at the mere prescence of a certain door. She sighed in relief and stopped in front of it. The hacker immediatly tried to enter, but the doors held fast against her pushes.

"It's locked," She reported. "But there's no lock."

Her earpiece flared. "Uh," Fitz said. "Check for a keypad."

The hacker quickly scanned the area. "Nothing. What, you can hack a keypad?"

"No," Fitz responded. "Not over the phone."

"Is there a reception desk?" May asked.

Skye turned to the desk at the end of the hall and moved towards it. "Okay, yeah." She stopped in front of it. "Well, now what do I do?"

She got a response, but not from the earpiece. Rather down the hall. "Well, what are you trying to do?"

Skye turned to see Ian Quinn slowly approaching her, a dissapointed look on his face. Nervous energy raced through the hacker as she turned to face him. "Just... looking for a pen." She chuckled. "Here we go. Got to write down all those good ideas, know what I mean?" She pointed at him. "Of course you know what I mean. Probably have like ten pens for all your ideas."

"What are you really doing?" Quinn demanded, humor and joy gone from his eyes.

After a minute of silent staring, Skye finally let out a sigh. "Alright, I'm busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate."

"I invite you here as a guest," Quinn angrily growled as he approached her. "You treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online. Trying to get a leg up on my company. That's why you have that Centipede War-Dog with you."

 _Centipede War-Dog?_ Skye mentally questioned, but she had no time to run it through her mind before Quinn raised his phone. "Security," He called out.

Skye reacted fast. "No, no, no, wait!" She begged. "It's just... with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded so... careful-" She quickly began writing on a notepad on the desk. "What you say, what secrets you reveal. And... I was hoping that you and I could be honest with one another." She held up the notepad toward him, the scrawled words of "SHIELD IS LISTENING" in full display. "If you know what I mean." She said with a smile.

 **Next Chapter:** **A Centipede secret is revealed and the battle for the new powerful element may just lead an old friend of Jonathan's right on is trail**


	7. Chapter 7: Changing Agendas

**Author's Note:** _Claps to my schedule for giving me the chance to actually work in peace. The last Agents of SHIELD was FREAKING CRAZY! I'm am so looking forward to April! Let's keep this mysterious past train rolling! Follow, favorite and review if you enjoy! Everything except for Jonathan belongs to Marvel Studios! NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Six: Changing Agendas (End of S1, E3)**

 **Fitz**

The speakers crackled once more as Skye let out another laugh. "My office had less space, more wheels." She quipped to Quinn once more. The speaker went quiet for only a couple of seconds before she spoke once more. "Wow. A view of the ocean and the pool."

"Not a bad place to do buisness." Quinn replied.

Fitz and Simmons both looked at each other with amazed and shocked expressions. _How is she pulling this off?,_ Fitz mentally asked himself. Only minutes ago, she was confronted by Quinn and it looked like the hacker was done for. Now she seemed to be happily exchanging quips and jokes with him as he gave her the grand tour of the house. Skye's negotiation skills were leaving Fitz and the entire team baffled.

"Got the dispatch leaking Hall's location." May reported. "User's an alias."

"Oh," Fitz exclaimed, looking up from the table monitor. "Can you trace the DCHP server-"

"Trace is running, but it'll take time." May replied. She looked towards them. "Our assets?"

"Jonathan is still MIA. Skye said that he thought he remembered something Centipede related about the place and that's why he ran off." Fitz reported. "His communicator is shut down, so we have no way to even contact him. The best we can do is wait."

"And Skye?" May asked,

"I thought she was done for," Simmons reported. "But she just sweet talked her way into Quinn's office."

"How'd she manage that?" May wondered.

"Well," Fitz said as he made circular motions around his chest. "She probably just used her..." That's when he realized his mistake of saying that when there were only woman in the room. Both Simmons and May looked at him incrediously as he stuttered over his words. "Uh... Uh... Her, Uh... Ah..." He threw his hands up in defeat. "Oops."

Simmons sighed beside him. "Ugh! That's the _only_ explana-" She cut her rant short as, to their horror, Skye's audio signal suddenly flatlined. "Oh my gosh, the signals dead. Fitz!"

"What-" Fitz stuttered as his hands shot across the electronic keyboard. "I didn't. She must've-" He stopped. "Oh, Lord."

 **Skye**

Skye let out an audible sigh of relief as she watched her earpiece slowly sink to the bottom of the champagne glass. "Much better." She said to Quinn as she made her way towards the window showcasing the view of both the pool and the ocean. "Haven't felt that 'Someone's watching my every move' feeling since I... failed my driver's test."

"You want to tell me what the hell's going on?" Quinn asked as he studied the glass with interest before turning to the hacker. "SHIELD got to you?"

Skye smiled. "They picked me up in LA, I helped them in a crisis, and now they want to recruit me."

"Of course they did." Quinn replied as he set the glass down on the table in front of him.

"So I played along," Skye said. "Talk about inside info- I have a bunk on their plane." She slyly smiled. "I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful." She looked at him. "I thought this qualified."

"Why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?" Quinn wondered.

"Something about SHIELD not breaking international laws." Skye confidently replied. "They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open."

Quinn smirked as he brought himself up from leaning. "Yes, I have definitely noted some of the angles you're working." He stopped. "What about this 'bodyguard' of yours? How did he get associated with SHIELD?"

Skye almost felt herself laugh out loud as she took the opening the billonare presented to her. "I'll answer that," The hacker replied. "As soon as you tell me what you know about him." Quinn gave her a surprised look as she crossed her arms. "I heard you call him a 'Centipede War-Dog' when you described him." She cocked her head. "What exactly do you know about him?"

 **Jonathan**

 _"... Help the perimeter... Always keep an eye... Never let your guard down."_

The fractured words just seemed to get more heightened and loud as Jonathan continued his walk around the side of the complex. He was not even really guiding himself. In fact, to his shock, his movement was almost fueled by instinct, almost like, somewhere deep inside of himself, he knew exactly where to go.

His mind continually rushed as his hand placed itself along the wall of the complex, tracing a route along the side as he walked. He was aware that he had turned his communicator off and that he had no support if anything happened during this detour, but that was the farthest thing in his mind. His instinct was the dominant of his mind, driving him towards a large congregration of bushes near the south window of the building.

He didn't remember this area at all, but he walked it like he knew the in's and out's of every pebble. Everything within him seemed to resonate as he swiftly approached the jutting corner of the complex.

Stepping away from the shrub, Jonathan groaned in absolute pain as his head throbbed once more. As his hand shot to his forehead in pain, he faded once more. Through the darkness, a hazy image began to build itself in front of the asset. He saw himself walking the same path he was walking now, stars peppering the night sky above him. He watched himself look down to his hands as he spun an object within his palm, the moonlight gleaming off the sleek metal of the device he held.

An unthinkable amount of questions rushed into Jonathan's mind as he looked on. Why had he been here before? Why was he in this location? What was the device he held? Why was he helping this woman? How did this relate to Centipede? Only one of those questions was answered as his past-self continued his actions.

He watched as he bent to his knees within the brush, faced the wall and reached forward, pressing the metal device against the corner wall. The machine let out a sudden whir and beep as metal limbs extended out of it's hide and outstretched, broadcasting a red light across the dark night.

Jonathan saw himself reach out to the device and begin to click at the buttons as the image began to deteriate. He felt every muscle of his tighten as he strained to concentrate and keep the image, trying desperately to keep this link to his past alive. His efforts were not successful. The last thing he heard as the image fully broke was himself decree in a commanding tone. "Phase One set. Begin Phase Two."

Jonathan let out a gasp as he returned back to his mind and the present. "What the hell was that?" He asked himself out loud as he sat up. He felt himself clench his hands and twist his neck as he fully stood once more, relishing in the fact that he could control his body again.

Once he fully recovered, the asset wasted no time moving immediatly to the bush and towards the wall. He reached out, ignoring the brush and crack of the twigs, and felt his hand settle on the sleek feel of a metal device. A rush shot throughout Jonathan's body as his hands clenched on the device and pulled it towards himself. Over the past week, he had been running around, blind and clueless to exactly who he was, the only real connection to his past coming from the fractured images that decided to painfully pop into his head from time to time.

Now, for the first time since he woke up, he had a physical item, a thing that was somehow connected to what he once was. Something connected to his past. Something that he had placed.

After what seemed like an eternity of pulling, Jonathan heard a small crack of wall at the same time his pull loosened. He extracted his arm and finally got a good look at the metal item he held. Like what he had seen before, it had sleek metal coating across it's entirety, lights glowing and flashing across it's outstretched claws and dim flashing center. A series of clicks and whirs resonated from the device as Jonathan rotated it in his grasp. He may have been amnesiac, but he knew he had never seen anything like the device before.

Jonathan's hand shot to his ear as he activated his communicator once more. "Fitz/Simmons, it's Jonathan." He reported. "I found some kind of... machine that I don't recognize at the side of the complex. I think it may be connected to Centipede."

"That's the least of our worries right now." Simmons reply crackled in. "Skye is currently in Quinn's office and we just lost all contact and vitals with her!"

"What?!" Jonathan demanded, worry now rushing through every ounce of his body. "When?"

"Three minutes ago." Fitz replied. "She was in the middle of talking to Quinn and everything just dropped. We're completely blind."

Jonathan's communicator crackled once more as Ward suddenly came through. "Abort is not an option, but if she's compromised..."

"Jonathan, you and Skye are our only way in to get to Dr. Hall." Coulson broadcasted.

"And we're your only way out." Ward added.

"I'm aware," Jonathan responded as he placed the small device in his pocket and quickly made his way back to the path of the complex. "And I'm en route to Quinn's office now." The amnesiac had only just befriended Skye and he was really not okay with her dying on his watch. Not when he could do something about it. "Just stay alive, Skye." He muttered as he ran. "That's all you have to do."

 **Skye**

"I'm surprised that throughout your numerous journeys into the deepest parts of the web, you never came across a War-Dog." Quinn said as he moved towards the balcony.

"I usually only find what I want to search for," Skye replied with a smile. "And I never really had a want or a need to look for a 'War-Dog' organization."

"War-Dogs aren't an organization." Quinn said, turning to the hacker. "War-Dog is a rank."

Skye smirked. "So, you do know what they are."

Quinn looked back out towards the window. He remained silent for a couple seconds before speaking. "Only the rumors passed down to me by others involved with Centipede."

"Like what?" Skye asked, curiosity getting the better of her once more.

"The Centipede Organization rarely makes personal visits to anyone," Quinn started. "Apparantly they favor their secrecy just as much as SHIELD. However, when they do make visits, they never send their people alone. As the rumor goes, their people are always flanked by a hooded lone guard, most facial features blocked. Supposedly, they only bring these people when they mean to make an example of someone, because every story I've heard surrounded around these 'guards', it never ends well when they come." He turned to the hacker. "Entire organizations have been decimated and gutted every time and only when one of these individuals show themselves. Destroyed and ripped beyond repair, as if a one-man war tore through it. It earned the War-Dogs their name and the fear and respect of the people under Centipede's control."

Skye kept her facial features from showing her shock at this new knowledge (She honestly didn't know how Coulson managed to hold it all day everyday), but she felt a twist her stomach. Centipede was certainly not sounding like the nicest of organizations to work with and an even less nice enemy to make. That didn't stop her from asking the most prominent question on her mind. "What makes you say my partner is a War-Dog?"

"Well," Quinn replied as he spun the fried communicator within the champagne once more. "For one, it would make sense for SHIELD to attempt to recruit a War-Dog, if they exist, to their cause along with a Rising Tide hacker like you, try to eliminate a few threats off their list." Seeing as how the SHIELD team picked up Jonathan on the knowledge that Centipede was tracking him and that alone and they picked her up because she had a lead on Peterson, Skye didn't think that was the case. Nevertheless, she let him continue. "And as for my second and most prominent point: I've spent a fair amount of time evaluating surviving camera footage from companies that had gotten a visit from the War-Dogs, preparing myself for if they ever came after Quinn Worldwide. I've tried to examine every individual I saw that was active in the area's before the arrivel of the War-Dogs, seeing if there was some kind of connection, remembering every clear face I managed to see." He locked eyes with Skye. "And I've seen your bodyguard before, on a few of my tapes, actually. I'm quite certain his face appeared each time it was mere minutes or seconds before the arrivel of the War-Dogs. So, in one way or another, your bodyguard is tied to the War-Dogs, meaning he has to be one of them. It all makes sense." He finished as he set the glass back on the bar.

Skye let that stew in her mind as she continued with her smirk facade. If what Quinn was saying was true, Jonathan did have a solid connection to Centipede and, more specifically, these "War-Dogs". What kind of connection he had to them was a completely different story. From what she heard, the War-Dogs were hooded and if Quinn was able to get a good look at Jonathan's face, her guess was that he wasn't a War-Dog. But with all the muscle-memory that Jonathan contained, it would make sense if he was some organization-destroying super-assassin. _So if Jonathan isn't a direct War-Dog_ , She thought. _Then what the hell is he?_

Her curiosity urged her to question the billonare once more and find out the answer to that all-consuming question. However, Skye was all-too familier in the information-gathering game she was playing and she knew the signs of suspicion a person gave out when you pressed a certain question for long. Seeing how it was currently radiating off of Quinn, she decided to take a seperate approach.

She smirked as she took a seat on the white couch and rested her arm on the pillow in front of her. "You're saying SHIELD wanted to rope us in because we pose a genuine threat?" She asked Quinn.

"Yes," Quinn answered without hesitation. "And fit their profile."

Skye slightly cocked her head. "Profile."

"Sure," The billionare replied. "Your buddy's a criminal. You're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere."

Skye scoffed. "Probably."

"Specialized skill sets." Quinn continued.

The hacker shrugged. "I try to stay humble but fail." She replied.

Quinn locked eyes with her. "No family." He said to her. Skye instantly felt a surge of cold rush through her and settle in her heart as she felt her eyes lower from his gaze, old scars aching once more. "I'm sorry," Quinn apologized as he approached. "I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that is what these people do. SHIELD-" He leaned towards her, determination in his eyes. "They prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn to." He smiled. "I can offer you something better."

 **Jonathan**

Mentally, the sight of two patrolling guards right as he approached the stairwell shook Jonathan to the core. He put the level of nervousness and fear he felt at the worst kind of jump-scare multiplied by one-hundred. His muscle-memory certainly didn't see it the same way.

The first guard who turned at the sound of running footsteps only had time to exclaim "Hey!" before the impact of Jonathan's right fist against his cheek shut him up. The guard didn't even have time for a second exclamation before his chin caught the force of the asset's left uppercut, leaving him sprawled out and unconcious on the floor.

The second guard had turned during the commotion and, after a brief moment of shock, quickly stepped forward, throwing a punch as he came. Jonathan rushed forward to seemingly meet the guard, but found himself swinging his back toward's the confused guard. The asset caught the guard's arm with his left hand and quickly pulled him forward, violently rotating at the same time and impacting the back of the guard's head with the butt-end of his partner's stolen pistol. The guard was too dazed to even put up a fight as Jonathan slammed him face-first against the right wall of the hallway, effectively knocking him out cold.

Jonathan felt himself recall Coulson's words as he began to drag the knocked out guards to the underside of the staircase, talking about how stealth was vitally important in these types of missions. He knew the hell he would face (No doubt from mostly Ward) for charging and assaulting two guards without even considering the other options. But looking at the current situation, Jonathan felt there would be a good way to justify what he did. "Scratch that," He muttered as he dragged the last guard under the staircase. "Multiple ways to justify this."

As the amnesiac asset began to climb the steps towards the hall that held Quinn's office, Jonathan felt his communicator crackle once more. "Guys, clocks ticking." Coulson's voice reported to them all. "Where's Skye?"

Jonathan's fingers shot to his ear. "I'm on her floor now, Coulson." He reported as he crept toward's the office door. "I'll report back once I know what's going-" The asset went silent as the steady clack of multiple booted footsteps steadily approached and an ice grip clutched at his heart. He had handled two of the guards easily, yes. But judging by the sheer amount of clacks, that was definitely more then two and more then enough to overwhelm him. "Scratch that," Jonathan reported as he pressed himself against the wall. "I'll call you back when I can. You know, if I still can after this."

 **Skye**

"You stay with us," Quinn continued to Skye as he straightened to a full stand. "There's no secrets, no lies and no agenda. You're free to do what you do without big brother watching over you."

Skye's smirk had completely dropped. She was being offered to do what she loved most with full protection and pay, little to no strings attached. She had the chance to live the lap of luxery while continuing to bringing hidden secrets to the public's views. It was an offer every hacker dreamed of.

"But first," Quinn said as he took a seat beside Skye and bringing her out of her thoughts. "You have to tell me exactly what agenda SHIELD sent you in here with."

Skye, for a moment, felt completely stuck at a mental crossroad. She had the chance right there. The chance to escape SHIELD and return to what she did best, to return to normal. She could take the secrets she learned at SHIELD and run, spreading them among the people and cementing her status as a Rising Tide member. But, at the same time, SHIELD had begun to show her the bigger picture then what she was used to. With SHIELD, she was being given the chance to change the world for the better. To revolutionize the way people view life. To even maybe change the way she thought about the government agency and maybe even become a bigger part of it, find allies and friends where she never thought she could. Finally, she came to a decision.

"Well," Skye replied with a smile. "They wanted me to do whatever it takes to get in here." She then nonchalantly raised her Desert Rose pocket-mirror and began her show of checking herself out, all the while keeping her eyes on the bars, which frustratedly flashed red.

"Get in here and...?" Quinn asked as the hacker mentally cursed.

 _Come on,_ Skye pleaded in her mind. _Come on._ Finally, after what seemed like ages, the red bars vanished and were instantly replaced by the steady flash of green. Relief washed through her and she had to keep herself from audibly sighing in relief as she closed the pocket-mirror and turned to Quinn.

"Bat my eyes," Skye happily replied as she placed the mirror on the table in front of her. "Get you talking."

 **Fitz**

It didn't matter how deep in concentration Fitz, Simmons and May were in. As it turned out, the quick succession of sudden beeps had little trouble startling and catching them all off-guard.

May whirled away from the monitors and towards the table-display. "She's in!" The senior agent exclaimed.

"She's done it!" Simmons shouted out. "Fitz, you're up!"

"Oh, Mother of all Things!" Fitz cried out as he raced away from his monitor and towards the table-display, fresh adrenaline pumping through him. "Move, move, MOVE!" He quickly shoved past May and all but pounced on the display. His fingers raced across the multiple simulated keyboards and schematics as he engineered cyber battering-rams and began to quickly and desperately smash against the systems firewalls, making his way towards the gate controls.

The crack of gunshots suddenly filled the communicator, causing the entire team to jump. In Fitz's experience, gunshots over communication never equaled a good thing. The communicator crackled once more with the sound of another gunshot and an electrical spark.

"Ah!" Coulson's voice suddenly came through. "We need a reset here, Fitz!"

 _"I know! I know!"_ Fitz mentally exclaimed. He dragged another one of his programs against the firewall, only to have it violently rejected and destroyed. He cursed and dragged another one of his systems to the wall, chipping at it once more as a cold sweat ran down his cheek.

"Fitz!" Coulson exclaimed once more through the crack of gunfire and another destruction of Fitz's program.

"Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!" Simmons exclaimed through her communicator just as Fitz at last managed the complete destruction of the system's firewall.

Triumph coursed through the young scientist as he turned to face the main monitor, now displaying a red worded pop-up reading SYSTEM RESET : 03. "Okay, go!" Fitz shouted into his communicator.

Simmons looked at him, a bit shocked. "Oh," She said. "Maybe it does."

 **Coulson**

It had been a long time since Agent Coulson had been in actual combat and he had to say that he had all but forgotten the feelings that combat could give a person. He barely remembered the feelings of pure adrenaline and triumph it could give you, much less the unrelenting feeling of incoming bullet impact that could envelop every muscle in your body. Unfortunately for the agent, that was the only feeling presented to him as he continued to duck past the high-pitched whiz of the bullets, spark pops echoing through their area as the bullets impacted the glowing shield. Nethier him or Ward had a solid way to repel all the rapidly advancing guards and they both knew that if they hoped to survive the mission, they had to bring down the shield, now. Their lives depended on the scientists back on the Bus.

Right as the guard's shouts grew to right over the ridge that the two agents were taking cover in, a sudden loud hum and spark caught Coulson's attention, followed by the sudden spark of his comunnicator. "Okay, go!" Fitz shouted to the agents. Coulson didn't need to be told twice.

He nodded to Ward and both agents quickly sprinted towards the now clear patch, with Fitz counting down as they ran. "System rebooting in two...One!" Coulson raced past the line as Ward leapt, barely skimming past the line as Fitz let out the cry of "NOW!" and the shield hummed back to life behind them.

Coulson quickly shot forward and picked Ward off the ground, adrenaline and triumph at surviving rushing through his veins, as a wave of bullet impacts sparked against the activated shield. The two agents quickly dusted themselves off and made their way up the hill and towards the complex.

"I'll look for Doctor Hall down in the lab." Coulson said as he veered towards the left complex.

"I'll retrieve the assets." Ward responded as he veered toward the massive main complex.

 **Jonathan**

Jonathan really didn't know which was worse; the ever advancing march of a fair amount of guards or the fact that the marches suddenly stopped just about ten feet from where he crouched. A thousand thoughts rushed through the asset's mind. Did they know he was there? Were they taking aim? Setting up some kind of weapon? Preparing to charge his position?

As he felt his muscles tighten in preperation for whatever came next, a sudden booming voice broke him from his thoughts. "We have a security breach on the beach front," The voice told the group of guards patrolling the hallway. "Possible government agents. They managed to break past the shield. I need all squads on the beach front. Find them. Shoot to kill."

This was followed by a collective, "Yes, sir." and "Let's move!" as the guards moved through the hall and down the steps towards the beach. At the same time, Jonathan felt a strange mix of relief and fear at the news. A successful security breach meant Skye was able to connect and finish her part in the mission, meaning she was probably still alive and kicking, which was great news. It also sounded like Coulson and Ward were able to make it past the shield and begin their route to Hall. But at the same time, they weren't able to get past unnoticed and they were about to have multiple squads of guards falling down on top of their heads.

Before Jonathan could even think about what to do next, his attention was brought to three of Quinn's guards, looks determined and hands on weapons, quickly moving to Quinn's office. A sick realization came over Jonathan as he came to a full stand in the now empty hallway. It certainly wouldn't take much connection to realize that Skye being there and the SHIELD break-in was not a coincidence. And, even with an only brief encounter with Quinn, he knew that a person like Quinn would not take the betrayal sitting down. He'd take all of his anger out on the hacker, there was no doubt about that in Jonathan's mind.

A spark of fear shot throughout Jonathan's heart, but that was quickly overshadowed by the pure adrenaline and pride rushing through him. He may have had amnesia and no knowledge of how he acted in the past, but he knew that he wasn't allowing any of the SHIELD team to die on his watch. Not when he could do something about it. He was tasked with protecting Skye during the mission, and that's exactly what he planned to do.

 **Skye**

"No," Quinn replied to Skye. "You can't be the only angle. SHIELD's thorough enough to know about me and my exploits." He leaned forward. "It takes more than a pretty face to disarm me."

At that very moment, the door burst open and three black-clad guards charged in. "Sir," One of the guards said as he stepped forward. "We have a security breach."

Skye let out a laugh as Quinn rose to a stand beside her. "Oh," She chuckled. "The timing on that was perfect."

Quinn turned to her then to the pocket-mirror placed on the table in front of Skye. His eyes flickered into frustrated anger as he sighed out loud, grabbed the small device off the table, opened it, then crushed it in obvious anger. Skye never dropped her smile. Quinn could fluster and yell all he wanted. It wouldn't change the fact that Skye had just completely played him.

To the hacker's shock, Quinn didn't fluster for very long. The billionare instead approached the head guard, patted his shoulder, then drew the guard's pistol forward and toward's Skye. She felt a sense of shock and anger race through her as she stared up at the bastard willing to shoot her just to keep his billions in tact.

Right before it seemed like Quinn was about to pull the trigger, he was interrupted by the sudden cry of pain from behind. Both Quinn and Skye turned in just enough time to see one of the guards suddenly drop face-first. Behind him, to Skye's relief, stood Jonathan, pistol tightly clenched in hand, his outstretched hand showing that he had just struck the guard with the butt of the pistol.

After a moment of shock, the last armed guard leveled his pistol at Jonathan, but the asset quickly retaliated, leveling his own pistol at Quinn's head. "I wouldn't do that." Jonathan warned to ethier or both the guard and Quinn.

Skye felt herself smile once more as Quinn glared down at her. "Well," She said. "This is a fair setup. You have your bodyguards, I have mine."

 **Franklin Hall**

It was all rather interesting to Hall. Here he stood in front of the element he had little to no proof existed, nothing to give to his fellow researchers that proved he was right, nothing to even confirm how deep in the Earth the element was. Now, he had it. He was warping it. He was calculating it. It was his dream come true. But at the same time... it wasn't.

It was about that time in his thought process that he heard the door to the lad hiss and slide open. He was expecting to see Quinn, but an entirely different well-dressed man stormed in, a determined expression evident.

"Dr. Hall!" The man exclaimed as he locked eyes with Hall. "Agent Coulson. We have an exit strategy."

"SHIELD?" Hall asked, his eyes still on the element in front of him.

"Yes, sir." Coulson confirmed as he moved towards to door. "Let's get you out of here."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson." Hall said, making Coulson stop. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

Coulson smirked after a moment of silence. "I'll be honest," He replied. "Our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that."

 **Coulson**

The agents expectation was simple: He planned to extract Hall, retrieve the assets and quickly retreat from the complex before Quinn was any the wiser. Sounded simple enough. But, as Coulson stood in the lab, Hall unwilling to move and the gravitonium continuing to warp within it's container, he began to realize just how much of a bad situation he was in.

"Look," Coulson said as he approached Hall's desk. "I don't know what Quinn is promising you, but-"

"An opportunity." Hall quickly replied, the roar and spark of the gravitonium shaking the windows of the lab itself.

"We can't let Quinn have control of this." Coulson retorted. "It's too dangerous."

"We can't let anyone have control of this." Hall replied. "That's why I'm here. To bury it at the bottom of the ocean, with _him._ "

The room began to shake even more violently as the metal circular cell began to rotate faster and the arcs of electricity began to destabilize the element even further.

As Coulson looked on, shock settling over him, he felt his communicator crackle with May's voice. "Coulson, the leak came from-"

"Doctor Hall." Coulson finished. "Yeah, I'm getting that."

"All petitions," Hall said as he worked. "Embargoes in the world couldn't stop Ian." He looked up at Coulson. "He grows more powerful every day. Then I get word he's found this." Coulson stumbled as the gravitonium solidified in a way and violently shook the lab once more, destabilizing the gravity around them. "I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson. I had to make a choice." He pressed another one of the glowing holographic buttons and the cabinets exploded. Items shot out of the containers and flew across the room, scattering across the wide extent of the lab.

"Something tells me that wasn't the "off" button!" Coulson cried as he felt his body ragdoll towards the violent pull towards the side wall, blacking out as he slammed against the metal surface with a painful crack.

...

Pain was the first thing that Coulson registered as his eyes shot open and tried to make out where he was. He was laying on his side beside an overturned table, lab notes scattered across his body. The room was now dimly lit with the flicker of the broken lights, barely lighting the assortment of objects now scattered across the room. He didn't recognize exactly where he was in the lab or how he got there, which was a bit scary for the senior agent.

"Now I kind of see how Jonathan felt when he first woke up." Coulson groaned as he sat up. Ignoring the throbbing in his head and the hum of the destabilized gravitonium, he activated his communicator. "Guys," Coulson reported. "We need to talk."

"Lost you for a minute," May nearly instantly replied. "We're aware of the problem, sir. Hall _wanted_ Quinn to kidnap him?"

"Yeah, why would he do that?" Fitz asked, jumping into the communication.

"What is wrong with him?" Simmons demanded.

"Quinn built a gravity generator," Coulson said as he dragged himself up. "Like the one we found but bigger. Hall knew Quinn would need him to control it's raw power, but Hall just wanted to unleash it."

"The one we found was two point five centimeters in diameter." Simmons stressed. "It stopped a semi. How big are we talking?"

"Twelve feet." Coulson answered ominously. "It'll definitely take down the entire compound."

Both scientists answered at nearly the same time, with Simmons exclaiming, "It'll sink the place!" at the same time Fitz shouts out, "No, it'll do more then that!"

"Work a solution," Coulson replied to them all. "I'll disconnect the power before things get..." He came to a full stand and, to his utter shock, realized where he was. "...crazy."

Coulson, Hall and nearly everything that was once on the ground had completely changed grounds. They were now standing right-side up on the ceiling of the lab, the sparking lights now side-by-side with Coulson.

The head agent had barely any time to register how weird the situation was before Hall spoke up up beside him. "They can't help you." The scientist reached forward and pulled out a (rather nice, Coulson had to admit) bottle of alcohol and a shot glass. "Soon, it'll reach an exponential acceleration state." Hall straightened a chair beside him and sat, looking toward the destabilized element. "I'm sorry."

Coulson watched as the element warped once more, shaking the windows around them. "My team's here," Coulson pleaded. "Good people."

"Sworn to protect all Mankind?" Hall asked as he uncorked the bottle. "That's what I'm doing, I promise. Making things right." He poured the drink down and the liquid oddly veered to the side, hitting the shot glass and quickly filling it. He chuckled and took a drink as Coulson looked back at the warping element. The lab suddenly completely rocked once more, knocking items and Coulson around the room once again.

 **Skye**

"Have to admit," Quinn said as he continued to stare down the aim sight of his pistol at Skye. "You two have got courage. Holding me at a standoff in my own complex, surrounded by squads of my own guards. It's really something."

Before Skye could even think of a comeback, her fellow asset spoke up. "The last thing we wanted to was come here." Jonathan replied. "You were the one who forced our hand and stole a SHIELD asset."

Quinn turned his head slightly to Jonathan, a slight glare on his face. "So, you _are_ a true Centipede traitor, aren't you?"

Skye could see the evident ripple of emotions across the amnesiac's face as he attempted to hold the pistol steady, curiosity shaking him. "How would you know?" Jonathan asked.

"I've met Centipede agents before. If you were really one of them, you would have already shot." Quinn slightly craned his neck to look more towards Jonathan. "I'm just surprised you had the gall to turn against an organization like Centipede. We've all heard about the way they handle their traitors. It certainly never ends pretty." He paused. "If you want to avoid that fate, I can help you get back in with little to no consequence."

"Don't listen to him." Skye quickly said to her amnesiac ally. "He's a billionare philanthropist in charge of a shady mining company. I'm betting dollars to doughnuts that he'll betray you seconds after you help him."

Quinn shot her a cold glare. "Seeing as you're the one that betrayed me, I really don't think you should be the one talking." Skye shot him a cold glare right back as Quinn continued. "I'm offering you a chance to regain yourself among the Centipede ranks. Just drop the gun and help me bring down the SHIELD forces invading my property. Do that and I'll place you back into Centipede like nothing ever happened."

For a brief horrifying second, Skye thought he would actually take the offer. Jonathan was being offered a position back at the group he was originally associated with, a chance to potentially regain all of his lost memories, regain everything he had been severed from. It was an offer that Skye knew would be a hard one for an amnesiac to deny.

After a tense, silent few seconds, Jonathan suddenly smirked. "Tempting offer," The asset answered. "But I'm going to have to politely decline, on the grounds that I'd rather not betray the team that I've fought and nearly died alongside on now three different occasions. Also the grounds that, despite the supposed billions you put into chariety organizations, you have suffciently proven yourself to be quite the dick."

Pure anger flew across Quinn's expression as he glared at both Jonathan and Skye. "Well," He growled through his gritted teeth. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

The rumble was heard by the two assets before they felt it, or at least in Skye's case. Jonathan suddenly and violently reeled back, letting out a cry of utter pain as he stumbled, at the exact time that the complex aggressivly shook, knocking items from shelves and shattering vases against the ground.

Before Skye could react, Quinn reacted. He surged forward, grabbing the hacker by the throat and pinning her against the wall, anger radiating in his eyes. Behind Quinn, his guards quickly recovered. "What the hell was that?" One of them asked.

"Who cares?" Quinn hissed at them. "Use this chance, take out the bodyguard!"

The guards wasted no time fufilling the order, the armed one quickly raising his pistol and firing at the stunned Jonathan. A pop of blood suddenly exploded into appearance on Jonathan's right shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain once more. However, to the hacker's relief, the bullet didn't only wound the asset, it also broke him out of his trance.

In an instant, Jonathan's arm shot up, firing his own pistol. The guard let out a sudden cry of pain as he fell, clutching his leg as he impacted the ground. The second guard immediately rushed forward, tackling and throwing Jonathan against the bar. Jonathan quickly threw a punch and a kick. The guard retaliated and the asset and the guard began their brawl.

Skye wasn't able to catch the full fight however as Quinn shoved his pistol right in front of the hacker's eyes, his hand pressing harder against her throat. "Don't you get it?" Quinn demanded. "SHIELD's against everything you stand for. They're Big Brother!"

"Maybe," Skye croaked. "But they're the nice big brother who stands up for his helpless little brother when he's getting beat up because... he ate a piece of cake that he wasn't..." Quinn gave her an absolutely confused look and, honestly, Skye couldn't blame him. "You know, you kidnapped a person!"

"I set him free!" Quinn stated angrily as he released Skye and stepped back. "I saved him! And I could've saved you."

Behind Quinn, the brawl continued. The bloodied guard quickly shot a kick forward and into Jonathan's chest, sending the asset stumbling back. The guard attempted to use the stumble to his advantage and throw another punch, but Jonathan was prepared. He quickly caught the jab, twisted the guards palm and shot a kick forward, throwing the guard back. Before ethier confrontation could go any further, the complex aggresively shook once more, causing both agents and enemies to stumble around the room and Jonathan to wince in pain once more.

 _What the hell is happening down there?_ Skye mentally questioned as she straightened up once more.

"Tell me what they're doing!" Quinn demanded to the hacker as Jonathan and the guard continued their fight behind him. When Skye didn't immediately answer (to be honest, she kind of wanted an answer to the question herself), he took another breath and another step forward. "Tell me what they're doing." He repeated in a dangerously calm voice. "You have to talk. You have no other way out of this." He chuckled and pointed the pistol towards her once more. "You're expendable to SHIELD. They sent you in here with nothing."

Then, for the first time since the confrontation started, Skye and Jonathan locked eyes once more. The look that passed between them was one of absolute knowing. Skye couldn't explain it, but she knew that both her and Jonathan had a certain sense rushing through them. A sense that, even though they showed themselves to be weak during a majority of this conflict, they had a sure-fire ace up their sleeve. An ace that SHIELD had trained them in for situations just like this. Both assets nodded to each other, turned to their enemies and struck.

Skye's palms shot up with immense speed, snatching the pistol that Quinn once held straight out of his hands and into hers. With that, she shot back to her original place, Quinn's pistol now aimed at the billionare himself. At the same time she did this, Jonathan shot a punch forward, which the guard easily caught. Before the guard could even fully smirk, Jonathan extended his free-arm forward, impacting his enemy's chest with an audible and painful crack. As the guard hunched in pain, Jonathan slipped his arm out from the wounded guard and uppercutted, knocking his enemy back and against the ground, completely unconcious.

Quinn looked on in complete shock as both Skye and Jonathan took aim at him, their eyes locked on him. "They taught us a few things." Skye muttered as she aimed down the pistol sight.

Jonathan nodded firmly beside her. "Certainly didn't send us in with nothing." He said.

"They both have balls." The shot guard muttered as he struggled to a stand.

"Thanks," Skye replied. "But... yuck."

Quinn completely dropped his angry expression and replaced it with an all-knowing smirk, almost similar to Coulson's. "But do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?" He slyly asked Skye.

Skye remained silent for a minute, her glare fixed on Quinn. She suddenly shook her head, eyes wide. "Nope." She answered. "On that note," She grabbed Jonathan by the arm, startling him. "I think it's time we go."

Jonathan looked confused. "What do you-" He was interuppted as Skye pulled him out towards the balcony and into the air. The air rushed past and whistled in the asset's ears as the duo fell straight down and were met with the cool and startling rush of Quinn's pool water.

The hacker quickly popped to the surface at the exact time as Jonathan, who looked at her incrediously as he spat out water. "That's... one way to make a getaway." Jonathan told her.

Skye smirked. "I try." She replied through her breaths as the two assets made their way out of the pool and towards their escape.

 **Coulson**

Coulson had only taken a few steps toward the fluctuating element and sparking machine before he was stopped by the click of Doctor Hall's pistol. The scientist held the gun in front of him and aimed towards Coulson, finger on the trigger. The senior agent knew that the scientist would have no trouble pulling it if Coulson didn't do what he said.

"All I had to do to get access to Quinn's lab was drop little clues, create a puzzle for him to solve." Hall said. "Quinn likes to _feel_ smart."

"So you leaked your location." Coulson replied. "Why not try reasoning with him?"

"You can't reason with an addict," Hall retorted angrily. "And he's addicted to exploiting opportunities. He never gives a thought to the friends, ecosystems, future generations left ruined in his wake."

"Like Agents Fitz and Simmons, your former students?" Coulson demanded. For the first time, Hall visibly hesitated and Coulson pressed more. "I've got them in my ear right now, telling me you're not a bad guy. We could've worked with you on this."

The element rumbled and the lab shook once more, knocking Coulson to the ground and causing Hall to stumble. "SHIELD?" Hall demanded. "SHIELD is just as guilty of the same thing! Experimentation without thought of consequence! Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion."

Coulson considered the statement in his head, thinking over everything that led up to the Battle of New York in an attempt to argue. Instead, he found himself nodding. "Fair point." He replied.

Another rumble and another shake forced Hall to his knees, but his gun was still trained at Coulson. "T-This element is far too powerful for you," Hall stressed. "For him, for anyone!" He angrily smirked. "I don't have to tell you that. You're feeling it now." Before Coulson could react, a powerful force pulled him and Hall to the wall once more with a painful impact. They didn't very much time left.

 **Jonathan**

Well, it was official. Jonathan was having what was perhaps the worst day he could imagine. Not just because he wandered away from the mission like a day-old baby. Not just because he was shot. Not just because the chlorine was digging into his burning bullet hole. No, it was made completely true by the fact that they had all been left by jerk-off Quinn to fend for themselves in a complex that was currently on death row thank's to an unstable element in the basement. And he was stuck running in a soaking wet two-piece suit. If that didn't make a bad day, he didn't know what would.

The party had devolved into total and utter chaos. Guests now sprinted desperately around the complex, screaming and yelling as they continued looking for any way out or any real safe place from the callapsing element. Among the chaos was Skye and Jonathan himself, who desperately ran around the complex, looking for any signs of Coulson or Ward to help extract them, as both of them agreed that residing in the complex that was about to be absorbed by gravitonium did not sound like a fun time.

"Great!" Jonathan yelled out as he ran alongside Skye and past the desperate swarms of people. "The one time we actually want to see Ward and he's nowhere to be found!"

"You think he would be easier to spot!" Skye called back. "Loop around this building over here! We haven't checked over here yet!"

The two assets quickly made their way around the building and to a walkway flanked by two fountains. They weren't seeing Ward, but to their shock and horror, they did see three guards quickly making their way towards them, muderous intent apparant.

"How are you feeling Jonathan?" Skye asked desperately as the guards closed in.

Jonathan gritted his teeth and attempted to raise his arm, only to gasp in pain and lower it once more. "Not great." Jonathan muttered. "I can fight maybe one right now, if I'm lucky. There's no way I can handle three."

"That's not reassuring." Skye replied as raised her fists.

Right before the three guards impacted the two assets, a sudden swift _smack_ caught their attention. Ward stood at the asset's left, holding the arm of the advancing guard and halting the punch he was throwing at Skye and Jonathan. His knee quickly shot up, slamming into the guard's chest and producing a grunt of pain. With that, Ward threw down a swift left jab, knocking the guard to the ground.

Seeing the current threat, the second guard quickly passed both of the assets and moved toward Ward, catching him around the throat. Ward swiftly retaliated, shooting his elbow up against the guard's face and disorienting him.

The third guard attempted to advance, but Jonathan used Ward's distraction as an opportunity. As the guard passed him, Jonathan's good arm shot out with blinding speed, grabbing the guard by the collar and pulling him into a headbutt. As the guard reeled back, groaning in pain, Jonathan quickly jabbed forward with his leg, kicking back against the guard and knocking him against the ground, knocking him out.

Ward blocked another roundhouse kick from the remaining guard, delivered a retaliation punch and a downward punch, knocking the remaining guard into the water. They had won.

Skye quickly made her way to Ward with the wounded Jonathan at her side, her eyes showing the pure relief she felt at Ward's arrivel and Jonathan honestly could say he felt the same.

"Are you hurt?" Ward asked as he quickly checked over Skye, who shook her head and checked over Jonathan, who groaned "Very."

"Just follow my orders." Ward said as he led the two assets out of the area. "I'll get us out of here." And Jonathan could say that he had no quarrel with that.

 **Coulson**

Ever since the destabilizing of the element, Coulson had dealt with more gravity shifts then he ever could have imagined. Each time it ended with him sprawled out on the floor with Hall holding him as a hostage so he could "save the world" from Quinn. However, this shift was different.

As Coulson, Hall and the items in the room impacted the watching glass of the gravitonium cell once more, the pistol that Hall had held for so long suddenly flew from his grasp and clicked against the space between the Agent and the scientist.

Hall quickly and desperately reached forward, grabbing the gun once more. Unfortunately for him, he gave Coulson more then enough time to fully recover and stand. Coulson threw a hard punch as Hall attempted to stand, knocking him down and forcing him to drop the pistol once more. With desperate speed, the head agent grabbed the gun and trained at the scientist, lip now torn as he stood.

"I see the future, Mr. Coulson." Hall said through the hum of the machine. "And it's a catastrophe."

"I just see a lot of people in trouble." Coulson sternly replied as he reached up and yanked away one of the cords from it's outlet. The lights flickered for an instant, but to Coulson's shock, nothing else happens. "Nothing. Fitz-Simmons? I tried to cut the power. It's still going."

Fitz spoke up. "You need to..."

"Find a catalyst!" Fitz and Simmons said at the exact same time before Simmons continued. "Something to create a chemical reaction in the core."

Armed with the knowledge, Coulson turned to Hall. "It's not too late to do the right thing!" Coulson shouted through the hum of the machine. "Help me find a catalyst-"

"I _am_ doing the right thing!" Hall stressed. "A completely selfless act. I know that history never celebrates what didn't happen. They'll call this a-a tragedy. They won't understand the good I did here."

As Hall went on, Coulson began to notice movement at the door and was both shocked and relieved to see Skye, Jonathan and Ward looking in, worried expressions on their faces. It gave the agent both hope and nervousness. He had to stop Hall if he wanted his team to live, and he had to stop him now.

"Killing innocent people?" Coulson demanded, turning his attention to Hall once more.

"Saving millions." Hall replied sadly. "We have to live with the choices we make, but sometimes we have to die with them, too."

That's when Coulson knew what he had to do. He had spent all of his time trying to save Hall, trying to put him away from the path he chose. But Hall was too far gone in his own ideals to save. That left only one option to save everyone.

The agent lowered his pistol. "I understand." Coulson replied. "You made a hard call."

"Yes." The scientist said, a smile appearing on his face.

Coulson nodded to him. "And now I have to make mine." He quickly turned his gun down and fired two shots, shattering the glass Hall had been standing on. Coulson grabbed on to the cord hanging above him as Hall instantly fell screaming below and towards the pulsing liquid element. He impacted against the ink-like substance and it quickly began to absorb him. Hall fought against it with everything he had, punching and kicking and screaming. But it was too late. Soon, his legs were enveloped, followed by his mid-section, chest, arms, neck and finally his head, a look of shock and fear the last thing seen before he vanished completely.

Instantly, Coulson and every remaining item fell to the ground once more, gravity restablished in it's correct form. The door to the lab instantly swung open and Jonathan, Skye and Ward rushed in. Not a single word was said as the team turned to the now secure gravitonium, the shock of what just happened still thick in the air.

Coulson knew that what he did was necessary. But that didn't make what he did any less easy to live with.

...

 **Four hours since mission end...**

"Say it back to me." Coulson ordered to the agent on the other end of the video feed.

"Deepest level of the Fridge," The agent repeated. "Unmarked vault, no access granted."

"And no recorded entry," Coulson stressed. "I don't want it listed. I don't want it flagged for the Slingshot. Anyone finds out, you're responsible- and suffering. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." The agent responded.

"That's what Hall would have wanted." Coulson said as the video closed. He sighed as he lifted a pistol from his desk and started to cock it and uncock it. "Used to have this down. Should be just muscle memory."

"You're making a habit of it, sir." Melinda May said as she fully entered the room.

"Trying." Coulson responded as he continued to play with the pistol. "Guess I'm a little rusty."

"Of these close calls, I mean." May defined, which caught Coulson's attention. "I don't enjoy running back-end."

Coulson turned to the senior agent. "You want off the plane?" He asked. "Go ahead."

May remained silent for a moment before stepping forward more. "I want in." She said as she crossed her arms. "Reporting for combat next time it's up."

Coulson remained silent for a moment as well before speaking once more. "You committed to the cause or just watching my back?"

May smirked. "Same thing." She said as she moved towards the door. "And you _are_ little rusty."

 **Jonathan**

"I'm just saying," Skye said as continued to examine Jonathan's bullet-wound. "You've taken hundreds of punches over the last three missions. I have a hard time believing you're so bothered by a gunshot."

Jonathan smirked. "Okay, gunshots and punches are in two completely different leagues, Skye. Just because I can take punches doesn't mean I can take a bullet just fine. And I'm not _bothered_ by it."

Skye raised her eyebrow. "Really? You spent three hours after we confirmed the bullet wasn't still in there swearing that if it was swelling, that meant there was a bullet in there. You also complained an extra two hours after that because the skin around the area was 'tender', tough guy."

The amnesiac asset snorted and pulled his arm away. "'Hours' is kind of stretching it."

"Is it really?" Skye innocently asked.

"Tell you what Skye," Jonathan said. "If you ever get a gunshot wound during one of our missions, I want you to walk around like nothing even happened and without a single complaint for twenty-four hours. Do that, then you'll get to judge me until the end of time."

"Easy." Skye teased. "Heck, I might just spray a little raw lemon juice on it with a little siracha, help keep down the swelling."

"Oh, you're not funny." Jonathan teased back. They chuckled for a minute before the sad silence that had become all too familier to the team since the end of the mission settled upon them once more. As much as both assets were enjoying their banter towards one another, both could tell that it was half-hearted, especially in the wake of the mission. Jonathan knew that Coulson had no choice when it came to Hall, but that didn't lessen the guilt that he and the rest of the team carried. The scientist was on a noble cause, trying to stop a corrupt billionare from getting his hands on an all-powerful element. If he had done it any other way, Jonathan felt that SHIELD would have moved to help the disgruntled and hopeless doctor, with no intention of ending him or his plans. If only he had done it any other way, the mission wouldn't have had to end the way it did and the team wouldn't be burdened by the weight of the friendly teacher and asset to SHIELD's death. If only things had played out differently.

Thankfully, his depressing thoughts were pushed away as Fitz and Simmons exited from their testing station, cloth in hand. Their eyes were noticebly red, empathy and depression for their fallen mentor apparent. They were taking it just as hard if not more then the rest of the team. "Fitz-Simmons!" Jonathan called as he moved towards them. "Did you find out anything?"

"Not technologically, no." Fitz replied as he set the device out in front of Jonathan.

The amnesiac looked up at them. "Oh, don't tell me..." He muttered. He knew the answer before Simmons even spoke.

"The device sustained too much water damage." Simmons reported. "We couldn't get anything out of it by way of tech."

Jonathan was about to unleash a strain of choice words when Fitz stopped him. "But, we do have something to report. It's about what this device is made out of."

Skye perked up at the sound of that. "Are you saying there's something up with the metal on the machine?"

"That's just the thing," Simmons said excitedly. "Whatever this device is encased in, it's not metal. Well, at least it's not _all_ metal."

" _All_ metal?" Jonathan inquired.

"Whatever this thing is made out of," Fitz exclaimed. "It only has traces of metal, as well as traces of iron, gold, and silver."

"It's like a compound armor," Simmons said excitedly. "Whoever manufactured this must have means far more advanced then anything we've come across to create armor like this. They probably can't make much of it at all, but just the sheer fact that they can make it..."

Jonathan looked at the short circuted device once more, more questions popping into his head then ever before. What were these devices? Why were they made out of a compound metal that's apparantly extremely difficult to make? What purpose did this serve Centipede? Why was he involved with it? And how did this connect to these 'War-Dogs' Skye told him about? He had a feeling that whatever he was involved with before, it didn't pose anything good.

...

 **Quinn Malta Facility**

 **Five hours since SHIELD Assault...**

The guard couldn't feel anything but pain in his chest and left leg, as did most of the other remaining guards. The facility was all but abandoned now, by both Quinn, the people and even the Malta military, and the people that remained now where the guards that were to injured to move. It was a cruel fate to be left to and the guard couldn't help but feel malice towards his former employer. Everything they had done for him and he just leaves them to their fate like they were nothing, dispensable like a read-through magazine. He swore the next time he saw Quinn, he would make him pay.

His thoughts were interuppted by what sounded like a multitude of cars pulling around the compound parking lot, all revving and humming with intensity. _Did Quinn return?_ The guard mentally wondered. _No, if it was Quinn, he would have arrived in the helicopter, like he left in. Then, who the hell was..._

Suddenly, at the bottom of the steps from where he was, he heard it. A murmer, followed by a pained moan. Before the guard could truly question it, he heard the familier woosh of a weapon all too familier to himself: that of a silenced rifle. Fear gripped his heart. What was happening?

He heard it again, a little closer this time: a garbled question, followed by a weak response. Another silenced woosh echoed through the night. The guard felt him crawl desperately towards the closest structure he could see. He had to get out of sight and fast.

Before he could go any further, a pained groan caught his attention. Suddenly, he heard a voice talk through the silent night: "Maybe you'll be my lucky break. Have you seen this man?"

A groan echoed through the air. "Pl.. Please." The weak voice said. "Help me."

The voice sighed. "Another lost cause. Put him out of his misery." There was another woosh, followed by a sickening _shlut_.

The guard crawled across the floor as fast as his broken leg took him, moving desperately to the building he could see. His efforts were useless though, as he felt a boot push painfully against his back. "I've got a live one, sir." A gruff voice said as the guard groaned in pain.

"Turn him over." The smoother voice demanded. The guard felt massive hands rotate him so he was facing the night sky. Flashlights shined in his face as a shadowy figure leaned over him. "Tell me," He inquired. "Have you seen this man at all? We seem to have misplaced him." The figure held up a tablet, proudly displaying the portrait of an individual, an individual the guard recognized.

As he struggled to answer, the figure sighed. "Another lost cause. Shame." The figure nodded to the other and the guard heard the click of a rifle.

"Wait!" He finally called out, prompting the figure to stop. "I... I recognize that person! He was here, assisting SHIELD in the assault on the compound! Went toe-to-toe with Quinn! Moved at a skill I've never seen before!"

The figure remained silent for a moment before turning. "Now we're getting somewhere." The figure happily stated.

 **Next Chapter** : **The hunt for the infamous cybernetic implants and a fallen apprentice begin**


	8. Chapter 8: The Protege

**Author's Note:** _I KNOW I KNOW! I'm sorry I'm late on this, you guys. A lot of people ask why it takes so long for me to update. I've got one answer: College. College finals are the bane of my everything. But I'm returning and working on this story as a priority! And thank you for all of you who continue your support and follows through my hiatus! Really appreciated! (And to those PMing me about possible fan art, know that you have my complete and utter blessing. Also, to those who wish to help me co-author the story, I would gladly welcome any support to the story. PM me any ideas you guys have for any future chapters and if I like them, I'll be happy to have you guys write and add-on to the chapters! Thank you for your support!) And now we move on to the more intense episodes of Season 1 and the excitement is about to liftoff. I'm very excited to be starting these episodes and I do hope you guys enjoy! Follow, Favorite and Review if you do! Love the support! NEW CHAPTER!_

 **Chapter Seven: The Protege (Start of S1, E4)**

...

 **Sergel's Square**  
 **Stockholm, Sweden**

The festival was currently in full swing, with the cloud of balloons, army of tents and cheer of the hundreds of people walking the streets testifying to that. The cheering crowd of different races and nationalities, visiting from all over the world, was encircled around Sergel's Square, mesmorized and entertained by the wide variety of acts being presented to them, ranging from singers and jugglers to fire-breathers and dancers. A regular group of could probably easily find themselves completely seperated and lost if they walked into the crowd of shifting and moving people like the crowd in the Square. But that wouldn't be the case with the approaching group of red-masked and well dressed individuals.

They appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, arriving at the top of the steps and quickly making their way down towards and through the crowd below. Each one of them carried a slick silver briefcase, held tightly against their sides as they walked. They kept close to each other at all times, never veering off from one another and always keeping a mere footstep away as they swiftly moved across the square and the crowd and towards the subway system.

Many of the people in the crowd looked on in confusion at the red-masked silent individuals as they wormed through. A few members of the crowd even danced in front and joked with them, no doubt thinking they were all part of the show. But none of the people of the crowd took a particular interest or attempted to follow the red-masked group. Nobody except for a young short-haired African-American woman, who stood towards the side of the group of individuals, earbuds placed firmly in her ears, as they passed.

As they began to walk by, the woman slowly slid her eyes to a close. She kept them closed the entire time they walked by, never opening them in the slightest, keeping her expression a blank. Once the last man walked by, her eyes slowly drew open. She then immediatly turned and followed the group through the crowd, down the escalator and to the subway system below, never taking her eyes off them.

Once the group of masked men hit the bottom of the escalator, they quickly seperated without a word. Six of the men turned to the left the same time that the other six men turned to the right, each group heading towards the slowing subway train. The woman only stood at the crossroads of the system for a few seconds before turning to the right and following the boarding masked men onto the train, standing beside them as she non-chalantly reached up and took the balance hold.

As the subway began to swiftly move down the tunnel and the other passengers looked on at the masked individuals, with a few even snapping pictures, the man closest made complete eye contact with the staring woman. Most would turn away from the glare that any of these men could give, but the woman just stared back, unblinking and blank expression unchanging.

In almost complete union, the entire line of red masked men turned to the woman, glares and attention now fully fixed on her. The woman turned her gaze away, but not out of fear of the men. Instead, her eyes slowly lowered to the briefcase that the lead man tightly held at his side, a pair of handcuffs clenched tightly around the handle of the briefcase and his arm, same as the rest of the men.

After a moment of staring, her eyes looked back up to meet the glares of the masked men and, for the second time, her eyes slid to a close. She remained still for a couple of minutes, her eyes tightly closed in what seemed like pure concentration. Before anyone could react, the woman acted, throwing her elbow back and against the subway's electrical system with immense speed and precision. The impact produced an immense crack and shower of sparks as the lights in the subway completely shut down, swallowing the tight metal space in complete darkness.

Screams of both the passengers and yells of immense pain echoed through the train system as cracks and impacts of flesh against flesh radiated from the center of the darkened system, with passing tunnel lights offering only seconds of salvation from the darkened chaos.

Finally, the subway system came to a screeching halt at it's next stop, interior still darkened. The door's instantly hissed opened and the frightened passengers quickly poured out, putting a great distance of space between themselves and the train.

The subway guards quickly noticed the commotion and moved towards the subway, guns drawn and ready. None of them knew what to expect on that train, but they didn't expect what was actually there. The train was littered with the injured and unconcious bodies of the red masked group of men, strewn across the chairs and floor of the subway and covered in purple bruises and bleeding gashes. In the center of the floor laid one of the masked men, eyes wide in shock, his left hand completely torn away, a puddle of dark red blood now spreading in the place of the now missing briefcase.

As subway security begins their sweep of the subway, the attacker begins a sweep of her prize. The young woman now sat on one of the metal beams lacing the interior of the subway tunnels, far gone from any of the subway train and the subway guard's sights. Ignoring the rush of wind and grind of metal echoing throughout, the woman quickly and methodically turned the code input nobs on the front-sides of the blood-splattered case. As she turned the last nob, a loud click eminated from the briefcase as the lock instantly unlatched.

The woman immediatly reached forward and pulled the case open, her eyes quickly scanning for what she hoped the case contained. Relief settled over her as her gaze locked on the intense gleam of the pure diamonds resting within the glass cube contained within the case. Her expression never changed as she held the glass cube up to her eyes once more.

One step down, the woman thought as she looked to the rapidly approaching subway train. Two more to go.

The subway train instantly rushed by the metal beams the woman rested on with a piercing metal screech and flash of lights. It only took five seconds for it to fully pass through the tunnel and pass the beams. But in that time, the woman had vanished from her location, along with both briefcase and diamonds, almost as if she was never there to begin with.

 **Ward**

"I only have one shot," Ward said, his eyes locked on the small container filled with blue liquid clutched between his fingers. "And it has to knock a person back, as well as out."

"Which is why we're perfecting this little beauty," Fitz said. Ward turned to find him quickly approaching, a new pistol in hand. It looked almost sci-fi in nature, with a blue pattern intwined over the grooves and circuitry over the grey colored base of the gun.".45-caliber cartridges, semi-automatic." The young scientist happily held out a small blue ammo clip in his other hand. "Each mag..." He quickly loaded and the sides of the pistol almost instantly lit up in a glowing humming blue light. "Contains eight therapeutic rounds of dendrotoxin."

"In case you miss!" The voice of Simmons chimed in from behind. Ward turned to meet her eyes, his expression one of questioning. Simmons happy smile dropped instantly to a shocked and apologetic expression. "Or have multiple assailants." She quickly added.

"Or, most likely, miss." Jonathan's teasing tone said from Ward's right. He turned to glare at their amnesiac asset, but he had already turned his attention back to the moniter and the analysis file of everything Centipede related. (Though that couldn't hide the smirk the asset held on his face)

Ward turned back and examined the pistol for a moment. He stretched out his arm and reached to take it from the scientist, but Fitz quickly pulled away.

"Yeah," Fitz muttered as he turned the gun in his hands. "W-we're going to have this new Night-Night Pistol working in no time. Okay?"

'Night-Night Pistol?' Ward thought distastefully as he lowered his arm. "Great," The agent replied. "One thing - We're not calling it that." With that, Ward began to move out of the lab.

"Yeah," Jonathan chimed in. "That name need's to change."

Simmons looked up from her research and turned to Fitz, smiling. "That makes three of us." She teased.

Fitz looked to them in a mix of frustration and a bit of hurt. "Yes, we- Yes, we are." He muttered as he placed the pistol back under the microscope and began working once more.

If they exchanged any more words, Ward was already out of range to hear it. He exited the lab and was quickly greeted by the head agent of the SHIELD squad. "Have you seen Skye?" Coulson asked as he descended the hanger steps.

"Not since weapons training," Ward replied as he began to make his way past Coulson and up the hanger steps.

"Has she stopped saying 'bang' when she pulls the trigger?" Coulson asked after him, his tone clearly one of amusement. (Why was it seemingly everybody on the Bus took to talking about agent training with humor?)

"Mostly," Ward replied as he reached the top of the steps. "Now, if she can just learn the difference between the safety release and the magazine release," And took it a bit more seriously, he mentally growled. He shrugged. "We'll be making real progress." With that, Ward broke away eye contact with the squad commander and began running training scenarios he could initiate if... when, he found his trainee.

 **Coulson**

Coulson watched to make sure Ward climbed the last step and dissapered to the upper level before turning his head to the black SHIELD SUV's resting in the hanger. He had only known the hacker for a short time, but, as most of the Avengers could tell, he was pretty good at locking on to an individual's personality. And he already had a solid theory about where Skye went.

He made his way to the nearest parked SUV and tapped his knuckle against the blackened window of the right rear window. The window slowly retreated down, revealing the smiling face of Skye, seated comfortably in the seat, laptop resting on her lap. "What's up, Phil?"

Coulson smiled as he placed his hand on the door. "I'd prefer you not call me Phil."

"Okay," Skye replied as her eyes went back to her laptop. "You're the boss... A.C." Coulson felt he should have been mad at that statement, but if he was being honest, he liked the ring to A.C. He would have talk to Fury about that.

"Just missing my van a bit," Skye said as she typed. "Taking a little me time."

"I want your help with something." Coulson stated.

This caught the hacker's attention, just like he knew it would. She leaned forward, a smile working it's way across her face. "Hit me with it." She said with a smile.

Coulson mentally smirked. He knew she would say something like that. "You ever rob a bank before?"

The smile surprisingly dropped from her, instead replaced with a look of confusion, but at the same time, intrigue. That was good. Coulson knew she always did her best work when something piqued her interest. "No." She replied.

"An armored car?" Coulson pressed.

"Nope." She said with an incredelous smirk.

"How about a casino?"

"Should I be offended?"

Coulson smirked. "Someone's stealing millions of dollars in diamonds. They found a way to crack the security systems. I want you to figure out their exploit." It was hard to miss the expression of pure interest on Skye's face, which was good. She certainly wasn't one to hold back her skills when finding out what she wanted. And that was what Coulson was hoping for.

...

Coulson didn't need to concentrate when getting a read on the way Jonathan was feeling. The way he felt was obvious in the constant pacing through the lab and his concentration focused on every piece of evidence he had on himself. The monitors in front of the amnesiac asset glowed with schematic images of the burned out device recovered from Quinn's estate, every piece of information the SHIELD database had on the 0-8-4 launched from the Slingshot a couple days back and an ongoing feed on Peterson's condition at the SHIELD Recovery Center.

"Frustrated?" Coulson asked the pacing man as he entered the lab.

Jonathan looked to the head agent for a moment before scoffing. "Frustrated doesn't even begin to cover how I feel, Coulson." Jonathan replied. "Literally every lead I could have aquired about my past is currently out of comission, I have fractured memories in my head that REFUSE to be remembered unless I'm right in the middle of danger, sure does pick it's moments, and the only people that can possibly tell me who I am are apparently in the business of tearing down companies and killing people with no remorse. So yeah, 'Frustrated' is a pretty small word to sum up everything coursing through me right now."

Coulson looked at him for a moment. "I get it, Jonathan. You've spent all of your time and energy working towards a goal that seems to get harder and harder to achieve the more leads you get. It seems like everything that should help you ends up setting you down a peg. Like nothing could really go your way."

Jonathan looked up to the head agent, surprise in his eyes. "How do you know...?"

"Try forming a superhuman team sometime." Coulson replied before the asset even finished his thought. "Trust me, it's definitely no walk in the park."

Even through the frustration, Jonathan visibly smirked. "I'll take your word for it, Coulson."

"You're only at the beginning of your investigation, Jonathan," Coulson said. "True, you've hit a lot of barriers, but, in our line of work, that happens more then you think. What you need to do is percivere, find your next lead, the lead to connect everything you have so far. Do what this team does best and keep digging."

Jonathan snorted and looped his arms around his neck, pacing across the lab as he did so. "Dig off of what lead, Coulson?" He demanded. "There's nothing here to even begin to get a read on their next location. Everything we have here does not get us any closer to Centipede."

"No," Coulson agreed as he held up his tablet. "But Sweden may have something." The amnesiac asset looked at him confused for a moment until his eyes locked on the tablet. Instantly, something sparked in his pupils as he reached out and clutched the tablet. "Someone has found a way to steal millions of dollars worth of diamonds from the seemingly impenitrable bank security systems. Thought to be impossible for any kind of thief to crack it."

"But this is not a normal thief we're talking about." Jonathan said as he scanned the tablet.

"SHIELD early assumptions are that this whole situation is superhuman in nature." Coulson replied. "And there are no SHIELD known superhumans in that area. And I'm not a betting man, but based on what we've seen with Centipede so far..."

"It's them." Jonathan said with surprising certainty. "There's not many who can pull something like this off. It's gotta be them."

"If it is, then they have to be stopped." Coulson said. "We're en route to Sweden now. If this is a Centipede lead, I'm calling the entire team on this," He looked to the asset. "Especially our Centipede intelligence." Jonathan's smirk was the only confirmation Coulson needed.

 **Jonathan**

Peru, the Republic of Malta and now Sweden. When Jonathan was recruited by SHIELD, he had come on the team expecting large amounts of base hopping, yes. But this much hopping around the world? That was a surprising bonus. He was pretty sure he had traveled more in a week then most people would travel in ten years. And he was completely fine with that. Though the one thing he wished was that he could go to each country under better circumstances.

"Yesterday," Coulson started as he led Jonathan, May and Skye through the subway tunnel and by the stopped train. "Twenty-five men, all military, were hired by one of the largest gem brokers in the world. They dressed the men in identical outfits, gave each one a randomly assigned briefcase, and sent them along twenty-five different routes here in Stockholm."

"Hell of a way to ensure their gems." Jonathan said.

"Yeah, I'm a bit impressed." Skye admitted beside him.

"No one knew which case contained the diamonds," Coulson added as he quickly signed a clipboard held by the officer guarding the train entrance. "But they were still stolen." He nodded to the officer, "Tas.", and made his way into the train.

"Why the Kabuki Theater?" May asked as they trailed Coulson.

"They were afraid because somebody's targeting diamonds," Coulson replied. "An armored car in Milan, a safe in Monte Carlo, and now this.." Coulson stopped at the middle of the train car and Jonathan could see why. The center of the train was the center of a crime scene, signs of blood splatter and blood drip throughout. Jonathan didn't need to be CSI to know a violent and quick fight had taken place on the train.

However, to Jonathan's own surprise, it wasn't the horror of the scene that kept Jonathan's attention. It was the shocking fact that he actually remembered... seeing something like this before.

"Over thirty mil total." Coulson said as Jonathan squatted to investigate the scene further. "Each theft occurred despite heavy security."

"They sound like inside jobs." May said.

"A lot of people share that opinion." Coulson replied.

"You don't." Skye said to the agent. Coulson looked up to the hacker, his expression adament that she was more then correct about her statement. She smirked before continuing. "CCTV cameras catch any of the action?"

"That's a good question," Jonathan chimed in. "Twenty-first century. Camera's are everywhere nowadays. There may be a chance that whatever happened here was caught on camera."

"Fitz-Simmons is checking," Coulson confirmed. "The system went dark for an hour. They think it was hacked."

May looked to him in surprise. "It was the same thieves each time?"

"Yes," Coulson confirmed. "But it was just one thief. A woman. And she did it all with her eyes closed."

That caught Jonathan's attention. This bloody fight, this carnage, this entire robbery, was all caused by one woman? There was no way a single person could pull that off. Unless... she was Centipede enhanced, like Peterson. But to a much different degree...

"Eyewitnesses ID her?" May asked.

Coulson looked to his team. "Black, athletic build, late twenties, early thirties."

Jonathan continued to mentally roll. That description didn't sound familier at all, but at the same time, everything about the crime scene was so familier to him. He felt his head painfully throb once more.

"So," Skye said aloud. "You asked how she could have cracked the system." The team turned to the hacker, questioning in their eyes. "I have a pitch, but it's way outside the box."

"I live outside the box." Coulson firmly replied.

Skye gave him an exaggerated surprised look before continuing. "There are people in the world with superpowers, right? What if this woman has ESP or something?"

"There are no credible studies that support precognition, telepathy, or extrasensory perception." May sternly replied.

"Okay," Skye quickly responded. "So science says no. But this woman knew impossible things. And why did she close her eyes? That's either random or totally important. Was she listening...?" She tapped her finger against her temple. "Or was she reading minds?" Coulson and May looked to her, their expressions devoid of any humor or real attachment to Skye's words. The hacker's prominent smile nervously dropped. "I'm gonna go... play with my phone now." She said as she took a couple of steps back from the team and sat on the train seats.

Based on everything that was happening in the world at that moment, Jonathan felt it would be stupid not to consider the possibility that the woman had superhuman abilities and he would have been more than happy to voice his opinion. Unfortunately, his mind and memories had a much different idea.

His mind began to throb at a pace he hadn't felt since the Peruvian temple. His hands automatically shot to his temples and cold sweat began to run down his forehead as Jonathan's arms and legs jellied and failed. He fell to the ground as the train and the team began to dissolve around him.

The vanishing and blurry image of Skye quickly went to Jonathan's side. "Jonathan? Oh, don't do this to us again. Coulson, this can't be safe for him to keep doing..."

"I'm not a fan of this either, Skye." The fading voice of Coulson replied. "But this is the only way for Jonathan to get some of his memories and information back. We have to let it run it's course."

With that, before Jonathan could have another thought, the world around the amnesiac almost completely faded. For twenty seconds, there was no feeling, no sounds, no sense of anything. Then everything happened all at once. A scene exploded into reality in front of Jonathan's eyes, a room that brought a sense of familierty to the asset.

He walked down a metal slicked hallway, hanging lights illuminating his way as shadowed figures walked by him. The figures were clad in heavy duty battle vests, with ammunition slicked across their chests and glowing devices peppering their pockets. They looked like a group groomed for battle and combat, ready for whatever the world threw at them. A strange sense of pride ran through the amnesiac. He really couldn't explain it, but the pride and excitement that ran through him filled his blood as he watched himself walk down the hall.

 _What is this place?_ He mentally asked himself. _I didn't see this place in my last blackout. Why am I here?_

His thoughts were halted completely when the wispy form of a man stepped to the side of Jonathan, his blue eyes locked on the amnesiac asset.

"You're back... then expected." The man said, his voice dipping in and out of clarity as the vision continued to messily distort. "Did SHIELD... when recovering...artifact?"

 _NO!_ Jonathan mentally growled. _I need to hear what he's saying. This will get me nowhere unless I hear what he is saying. Jonathan drove every ounce of concentration he had to every detail and sound his mind was showing._

"...Took care of them." Jonathan heard himself clearly say. "They're impressive sir. Able to take down both the military and SHIELD teams with little to no problem. Hell, they were even able to hold their own against the heads. Worth every dollar we put into them." The heads? Heads of what? Jonathan asked.

The man beside him chuckled. "I agree. The War-Dogs are showing exceptional promise, especially when matched against the militaries specialized forces. However, in my opinion, nothing will ever surpass our quick and effective training to our soldiers. It's headed our military branch for thirty years and I feel it'll head our military for years to come."

 _Thirty years?_ Jonathan asked himself. _Centipede has been around for thirty years? Why are they making all these moves against SHIELD and certain governments now?_ He wanted to ask that. Unfortunately, his body didn't respond. It never did when it came to his memories.

"I won't deny that your soldiers can get jobs done, quick and easy." Past Jonathan replied as he turned his sights (And by extension, Present Jonathan's sights) to a room that the duo was walking by. "The training you put them on is working out well for them."

The room was occupied by about thirty people, all clad in black uniforms. They wore stern faces as they quickly and effectively dispatched dummies, sandbags and even armored individuals. There moves were savage and quick, heavy in assault on both the head, the vital organs and, one move that drew the most attention from Jonathan: A savage disarming attack on the arms and hands. The uniformed soldiers pressed their palms against the outstretched hands of the dummies and with one lightning quick press with their palm against the wrist, they snapped and broke the entirety of the structure the dummies hand.

Revelation rushed through Jonathan's mind as he watched. That type of attack would devestate any persons hand, Jonathan thought. And if a person were stronger then an average person, that kind of attack could completely remove a person's hand, just like...

Jonathan thoughts were interrupted by a familier pull that he came to dread. _No, I can't leave now._ Jonathan growled as the room began to dissolve around him. _What are Centipede's plans? Why did they wait so long? Who are the heads? How am I involved in all this? WHO THE HELL AM I?!_ If his mental pull could hear him at all, it seemingly didn't care as it continued to pull. Frustrated, Jonathan strained his hearing the best that he could.

"This rebellion is going to be costly," The fading voice of the past Jonathan said. "You know how powerful the heads are."

A quiet chuckled filled Jonathan's ears as the room completely dissolved from view. As he felt himself begin to fade, the voice spoke one last time. "You leave the heads power to me and the others. You just worry about your promise. You're going to be the first wave, Jonathan. DON'T SCREW IT UP."

Those were the last words that Jonathan heard before he felt himself plummet away from his past and slam back into his body. His muscles almost instantly flared and his eyes shot open as he gasped for air.

"Still with us, Jonathan?" asked the hopeful and concerned voice of Skye.

Jonathan sighed in pain. "Yeah. Still here. At least, as here as I currently can be."

Skye's worried expression dropped to a relieved smirk. "That's all we can ever ask of you." She quipped as she helped Jonathan to a stand.

"It's good to see you're still with us, Jonathan," Coulson said as he approached.

"Yeah, I'm happy to be back too." Jonathan replied, rubbing his

Coulson smirked before continuing. "Did you see anything in your visions that may help with this mission?"

Jonathan wasted no time in answering the head agents question, relaying every bit of detail he remembered from his vision, including the soldiers, the thirty year age of the organization and the talk of a rebellion.

Coulson visibly mulled over the assets words for a minute before speaking. "So, the attack on the bank holders matches tactics of Centipede training?" The head agent asked. "Why would Centipede make a play on the diamonds?"

"I'm not sure." Jonathan replied. "Based on what I've seen, Centipede has more then enough funding. There has to be another reason for the diamonds."

"Whatever purpose they have for the diamonds," May replied. "It can only be used to further whatever rebellion they have planned. Jonathan said that he remembered talk about a rebellion that they were planning. If that is their ultimate goal, those diamonds have a place in it."

"But rebel against who?" Skye asked. "Who does Centipede have to rebel against?"

Jonathan shook his head. "I'm not sure. Whoever they are, they must scare the hell out of Centipede for them to plan this much."

"They definitely aren't taking any chances," Coulson added. "Whoever they sent in to complete this mission had to have been their top soldier... their top agent."

Something about the way Coulson said that last sentence was odd to Jonathan. Almost as if...he knew something. And it almost seemed like May picked up on this as well.

"Why does HQ want us to investigate these heists?" May asked. "Kind of a small thing compared to everything else Centipede could be planning."

"They don't." Coulson replied. "I picked this op. Any luck?" He quickly asked Skye, giving May no time to give the angry questioning her expression said she wanted to give.

"Yep," Skye replied, holding her phone up. "I'm getting full bars, which means if I was down here and twenty-five guys were in scary red masks, you know what I would do?" She smirked, slowly stood and stepped forward beside Jonathan. "Instagram." She finished, turning her phone over so that the screen was now fully visible, showcasing pictures of the red masked men from all different angles. Social media was plastered with them.

Coulson stepped forward, took the phone from the hacker and studied it with intense interest. May studied over his shoulder and both agents watched in awe as the mountains of photo evidence flashed in front of their eyes.

"There were hundreds of phones on that train," Jonathan said in a mix of shock and excitement. "The chances of getting a facial ID on this woman..."

"Oh yeah," Skye said to him with a smile. "We'll be getting that facial ID and getting one step closer to finding out what the hell Centipede is all about. And, hopefully, get you a little closer to your past."

 **Skye**

"It's amazing." Coulson said to them as he continued to flip through photo after photo of the red masked men on his office monitor. "Every year, this part of our job gets easier. Between Facebook, Instagram and Flickr, people are surveilling themselves."

"With many filters to choose from." Skye added as she watched the system through the pictures with impressive speed. She always had a theory that the government had ways to monitor people in ways never imagined by ethier her or her fellow hackers. It wasn't a shock to Skye that she was right. (It happened quite a bit when she was with the Tide) It was a shock that SHIELD could monitor to this scale, beyond any of her ideas. "I could do this pretty well when I was hacking for the Rising Tide, but you guys tag and search in ways the rest of us never dreamed of." The hacker admitted.

"Must be quite a feeling," Jonathan said beside her. "It's not everyday a government conspiracy theorist such as yourself gets a look and access at the government's high tech systems. For you, all of this must be like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory."

She felt herself smile. Jonathan certainly wasn't wrong about the feelings rushing through her right now. "Yeah," She admitted to her friend. "Seeing all this unique tech does give me a bit of giddiness, now that you mention it. You know, once I muscle past the feeling that privacy is literally dead."

Jonathan adopted a thoughtful expression, then, with a slight smirk, leaned into eyesight with Coulson. "You know, Skye isn't wrong." Jonathan said to the head agent.

"SHIELD only uses these systems for mission purposes," Coulson replied, never taking his eyes off the screen. "And we never use it for the complete evaluation of every person on the planet. SHIELD has enough situations to monitor without the addition of seven billion people. Believe it or not, we don't actually enjoy any task involving the monitoring of one individual continously. Some things a person does when they think they are alone should really remain private and away from anyone's eyes."

Skye could tell from Coulson's expression that he was speaking from experience. What exactly that experience was, Skye didn't want to know.

Coulson tapped a couple more symbols on his tablet before turning towards the two assets. "We only use these tracking systems in social media when the mission calls for it, such as tracking hostage situations, stealth attacks, fugitives..."

"Or a diamond-hungry, super-human terrorist organization." Skye chimed in as she looked towards the ever-searching system flashing countless pictures across the monitor.

"Exactly." Coulson replied.

Skye and Jonathan made eye contact and the two assets simultaneously shrugged in a silent agreement. It was still an invasion of privacy, yes. But given the current circumstances of the predicament, they could understand why SHIELD would use this system to their advantage. Right now, it seemed like Centipede was taking large steps ahead of them. They needed a way to catch up to the superhuman organization and this system could give them that catch-up. They were using the internet and cellular connection to their advantage and, as a hacker, Skye could respect that.

"I can run facial-recognition software on the photos," May said to Coulson. "Cross-reference them with our criminal databases." Skye was just about to agree with the senior agent before Coulson cut them off.

"You don't have to." Coulson replied as he zoomed in on a single picture on the monitor.

The picture displayed a young black woman in a black jacket, earbuds placed firmly in her ears. She stood behind one of the red masked individuals on the train, her eyes firmly locked on the masked man in front of her. She wore a blank expression, giving absolutely no indication of her intentions or her thoughts.

"That's the thief." Coulson firmly announced. "Her names Akela Amador."

Skye crossed her arms and shot the head agent a look. How was he so sure that this girl was the thief and, more to the question, how exactly did Coulson know her? Long lost daughter? Childhood friend? Former lover? Her curiosity peaked.

"You're certain?" May asked before Jonathan or Skye could.

"I should be." Coulson replied. "I trained her."

...

So many questions filled Skye's head in such a short period of time. So many it wasn't even funny. Why did Coulson train Akela? Why was she working for Centipede? What was she doing in Sweden? Why hasn't Coulson mentioned her before? Luckily, Coulson wasted no time in answering her questions before she even asked them.

"Akela Amador was a SHIELD agent," Coulson said to the team as they followed him out of his office.

"Was?" Jonathan asked. "What kicked her out of the 'Agent' status?"

"Seven years ago, she led a raid on one of Vanchat's gulags," Coulson replied as they descended the steps towards the hangar. "Everyone believed that she and the two other agents on the mission were killed. I had my doubts. So I sent in a second team, just in case. They found a lot of carnage, but couldn't confirm that any of it was Amador. Left the possibility open."

"That's why you chose this op," May accused as they entered the briefing center. "When you heard about the heists."

Coulson stopped and turned to the team, his expression confirming May's suspicions. "There are only a few woman in the world who could pull off something so impossible," The head agent replied. "Since you're on the Bus, I thought it had to be her."

If May was in any way charmed by Coulson's words, she certainly wasn't showing it to Skye. The only emotion she presented to the young hacker was her all-too-familier glare of frustration as she followed Coulson into the briefing room.

Jonathan walked up as May left, which gave Skye a bit of relief. He was really the one to talk to about what she was feeling, seeing as how the amnesiac was the only one just as new to the way of SHIELD as she was.

"So," She said to him as they made their way to the briefing room. "Coulson's former protege is our master thief."

Jonathan sighed as they rounded the briefing table-monitor. "Yeah, this mission is going to be... interesting. No doubt about that."

Skye smiled. The amnesiac was definitely not wrong about that fact.

"Swedish customs confirmed that Amador left the country using an alias on a Swedish passport." Ward reported as he paced in front of the monitor displaying Amador's passport. "She flew into Belarus, bought a train ticket to a town called Zloda. I've also put together a list of individuals who could fence that many diamonds." The agent swept his hand across the table-monitor, displaying links and status reports of individual diamond peddlers. "There's been no contact or activity." Ward finished.

"Maybe she's saving them for a rainy day," Coulson replied. "Buying something special." The head agent paced away from the monitor. "Let's focus on finding Amador."

"Lots of places to hide in a town like Zloda," Jonathan said. "Do we know where to start?"

"I'll let HQ know she's alive so they can assist with the manhunt." May answered.

Coulson turned to her. "I'd like to hold off on that."

May fixed him with an astounded look, as did Skye. She knew that Coulson knew and saw what Amador was capable of, same as the rest of the team. And, personally, after Skye saw that, she could safely say she wouldn't have minded some SHIELD reinforcements.

"Until we know more." Coulson finished with a stern expression before turning towards the entire team. "Contact Belarus authorities. Find us a place to park the Bus. Put together a list of inns, hotels and pensions near Zloda. There can't be that many of them." He turned to May. "We'll find her."

Ward and May both looked to him with displeasure before leaving. Jonathan fixed Coulson with an expression that held a mix of judgement and understanding. He nodded to the head agent and left as well, leaving only Skye and Coulson in the briefing room.

"I'm not so special after all," Skye commented. Coulson turned to her, questioning in his eyes. "I'm not your first protege!" Coulson's expression remained. She smirked. "Relax. I'm teasing. I know I'm not a protege. Hell, I'm not even a real, live agent of SHIELD yet."

"You two couldn't be more different," Coulson replied with a smile before turning back to the monitor. "Amador was smart, talented, fearless."

"Wow," Skye said in an exaggerated tone. "There's nothing in common."

Coulson turned back to her with an amused smile. "Let me finish," He replied. "She didn't play well with others, found little value in teamwork." The head agent sighed and, for the first time, Skye could see sadness in his eyes. "I thought I could instill those qualities in her, so I pushed her... maybe too hard."

Skye felt a twinge of sympathy for the head agent as she watched him look on at the picture of Amador. It must have been hard to see her that way, working against SHIELD, after he trained and connected with her. To see her turn like this...

"Don't blame yourself because this chick went to the Dark Side," Skye said to Coulson. "Whatever path she went down, whatever weird stuff she got into, it's on her."

Coulson looked to her, his face an enigma of unreadable emotions like always, until she saw he now had a slight smile. Something told Skye she had begun to earn Coulson's respect and attention, which was good for the hacker. Because, surprisingly, she was beginning to feel overall respect for SHIELD as a whole, which was surprising even to her.

 **Akela Amador**

Her contact swore up and down that he would come alone. That's all he kept saying when she first made the deal with him. He would come alone, no men, no guns. On his life. Why he would have the balls to approach her with two gunmen close by, she would have the answer to soon enough. She watched his white sillhoute move up the stairs and slowly and cautiously approach the door to her room.

Her eyes snapped open and with immense trained speed, she grabbed one of the golf clubs, flung the door open and grabbed the shocked man by the collar of his shirt. With an angry roar, she threw the man against the frame of her bed and kicked the door closed behind her, her glare never leaving the man's scared eyes.

"The agreement was to come alone." She growled to the man, all the while pressing the golf club against his chest with immense strength.

"I did!" The man groaned as he struggled to breath against her push.

"What about the man in the next room?" She sternly asked. "Or the one by the stairs?"

"They're here to protect me when I leave... with the merchandise!" The man fearfully responded. "Please."

Akela waited for a moment, almost as if listening, before she pulled back her hold on the man and stood up, allowing him to breath. The man took a couple of deep breaths and ran his hand through his hair before coming to a stand and rounding the bed, away from Akela.

"I'm sorry." The man said to her. "I've never done this before." He paused for a moment. "May... I see them?"

Akela never dropped her glare from the man, but she reached into her bag and pulled out a large tube containing four white golf balls. She stepped towards the nervous man, removed the tube's cap, and rolled one of the golf balls into his hand. She then raised a large glass of water to the man's eyes before slowly pouring it on the golf ball in his hand.

The ball instantly began to bubble and froth, slowly dropping and liquefying it's total mass. Soon, all that remained of the ball was a small puddle of white and a small pile of priceless diamonds. The man's eyes lit up with such surprise and greed, Akela was surprised they didn't pop out of his head.

"The rest-" The man stuttered as he removed the diamonds from his hand with a towel. "They are..."

"In the bag." Akela finished. "You can carry it through customs. No one will know." She looked to him. "Now... it's your turn."

The man chucked nervously as he reached his arm into his coat and handed over a small white square. "When I said 'thirty-million', I never thought anybody would-"

"If this fails," Akela interrupted as she took the square. "I will find you."

The expression of the man said that he knew she wasn't joking. "It will access all levels, as promised." The man quickly replied.

Akela studied the white square in her hand as the man moved towards the door. So, this would access every room in the complex. Rather astounding when said out loud. Akela hoped that, for the man's sake, the card would prove just as astounding in opening the actual doors.

"But once you're inside," The man asked at the door. "Do you have a plan?"

Akela slowly turned to him, her expression a mix of anger and frustration, not all entirely towards the man. "It'll come to me." She growled.

 **Jonathan**

"If we're planning to catch Akela through stealth and undercover tracking, do you think we could have chosen any other vehicle besides a white van?" Jonathan asked Coulson as the team travelled down the dusty roads of Zloda, Belarus in a large white van. "I don't think you could get a more suspicious vehicle to spy in."

"I seriously doubt we'll draw that much attention in this." Ward replied from the driver's sea.

"Look at any kind of spy thriller, Ward," Jonathan said. "A white van is literally the most used vehicle by any kind of spy. I really don't think we'll be able to stay hidden if we go out in public with this."

"The van isn't going in public," Coulson replied from shotgun. "The van is going to be hanging back out of sight of the town. It'll be used for long-range scanning only."

"That's good to hear." Jonathan turned to Ward. "See, Coulson knows his movies." He said to the agent. Ward replied to his statement with a glare. (Jonathan assumed Ward just answered anything directed towards himself with a glare.)

As the van moved further down the road and further into Zloda, Jonathan heard Simmons let out a small squeal of excitement. "How exciting," She said. "I've dreamed of visiting Zloda since I was a schoolgirl."

Based on everything that Jonathan has seen of Simmons, he had a strange feeling that when she said schoolgirl, she mean schoolgirl at college-level.

"Zloda, Belarus?" Fitz asked. "A dream come true? Really?"

Simmons looked to her fellow scientist in shock. "It's the birthplace of nobel physicist Zhores Aflerov," She replied matter-of-factly. "I mean, technically, he's from Vitebsk but that's less than an hour from here, and I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't know that."

Jonathan and Skye made eye contact again, her expression showing that they were thinking the same thing: what Fitz-Simmons considered common knowledge to themselves was almost always unknown to everyone else.

"Well, no," Fitz replied. "Of course I know who that is, Father of heterostructure transistors, thank you very much. We're all aware of that." Jonathan and Skye quietly scoffed at nearly the same time. "I'm just a little bit preoccupied. Our first and only other time in the field wasn't exactly a picnic, was it?"

Coulson looked back at them. "You guys are only here to search for Amador electronically. You won't even need to leave the van."

Fitz and Simmons smiled and pumped their fists at the news as the van's communicator crackled to life. _"Bus to Short Bus."_ May called to the team.

"Go for Short Bus." Ward replied.

Coulson leaned over to the young agent. "Next time, I'll decide what we call ourselves, okay?"

"I concur." Jonathan agreed.

"Good team names have always been the chief selling point when working with government agencies," Skye playfully added to Jonathan's words. "If the most creative you can get is swapping one word out with a new one Ward, I say let Coulson get the next one."

Ward shot them all withering glares and a snort before turning his attention back to the communicator. _"HQ has requested a status report."_ May said.

"What'd you tell them?" Coulson asked.

 _"That we're tracking a potential suspect- nothing more."_ May replied.

Coulson smirked. "I owe you one."

 _"More like three."_ Came May's peeved response. With that, the communicator deactivated.

The van continued it's travel on and off the road for a short time before stopping behind a thick line of tree's on the outskirts of town. It was visibly out of sight from any of the civilians in town and out of view from any of cities buildings. True to his word, Coulson had stuck the van out of sight and out of mind, which gave Jonathan a sense of relief because one; this meant that they wouldn't be discovered the second they entered the city and two; if worse came to worse, the most valuable tech people of the team would be safe and out of sight.

"If Amador's here, she'll have to contact her buyer." Coulson said to Fitz/Simmons and Skye as he unlatched his seat-belt and opened his door. "Scan for cellphone transmissions, encrypted emails, anomalous broadcast signatures. Call us if you find anything that indicates her presence."

"Maintain radio silence," Ward chimed in as he opened his own door. "Unless you really need help."

Fitz looked after him in confusion. "Well, what exactly defines needing help?!" He demanded as Ward shut the door behind him, much to Fitz's visible frustration.

Jonathan looked to Fitz as he climbed over the passenger seat and towards the open door. "I think if you hear any kind of gunshots directed towards the van or any people attempting to charge the van would be the ideal time to call for help, Fitz." He helpfully answered.

Fitz's eyes flickered with a bit of worry and fear at that answer, but he nodded to the amnesiac. "Thank you, Jonathan," Fitz replied. "That gives me a situation to follow at least."

"How long would we have to fend off gun-toting maniacs until you and Ward come to our rescue?" Skye asked.

"Not very long at all," Jonathan replied as he stepped out of the car. "The minute you guys call in an S.O.S, we're dropping everything and sprinting to your position. Shouldn't take more than a couple minutes, and as crafty as all of you are, I'm sure it's going to take the bad guys a hell of a lot longer than that to get into the van."

That earned some smiles from the van team, which was a good feeling for Jonathan. He really hated seeing his friends nervous and scared at the thought of being left in the van. Anything that Jonathan could do to improve their mood and courage was the action that Jonathan was taking.

"Jonathan," Ward called from somewhere behind the asset. "Let's move."

Jonathan looked back at Ward and nodded before turning back to the van squad. "Don't worry. Just do what you guys do best, track any potential signals for Amador and we'll be finishing this mission before you know it."

"Good luck, Jonathan." Skye said with a smile.

"Same to you, Skye." Jonathan replied, returning the smile before pushing away from the door of the van and following Agent Coulson and Agent Ward to the town below. He really didn't know what to expect, going into the town and going after Coulson's former apprentice. If this mission ended without any conflict whatsoever, Jonathan would be surprised. For whatever reason, he had a feeling the only way this was ending was with a conflict.

...

"I can only imagine how painful this must be for you, sir," Ward said to Coulson as the three-man team made their way through the small shopping district of Zloda. "Betrayed by someone you trained and believed in."

"We don't have all the facts yet." Coulson stated to the agent.

"True, but I have to assume the worst," Ward replied. "That Amador sold out the two agents on her mission."

Jonathan looked to Ward with surprise. "That's a big assumption, Ward," Jonathan said as he stopped to let a biker pass. "Why would Amador sell out her fellow agents and turn on SHIELD like this? Based on what Coulson has said, she really had no reason to turn. No grudges, no outbursts."

"Not everyone needs grudges or anger to turncoat, Jonathan." Ward said to the asset. "Sometimes all they need is the right object or the right amount of cash." Ward turned to them. "Wonder what she got in exchange."

"I don't know," Coulson said. "But until we do, I'm not gonna assume anything."

"You think she's innocent?" Jonathan asked as Coulson showed Amador's photo to a mix of people within the crowd in front of them.

"Innocent? No." Coulson replied as another person shook their head no to if they had seen Amador. "All the evidence points to Amador doing all this. But I believe that there is another reason she's doing this besides the opinion that she betrayed SHIELD. I know her. There has to be another angle to all this." Before Jonathan could ask what angle Coulson was thinking of, the team leader moved away from the team and approached an elderly man sweeping the side of the street. _"Izvinite. Vy videli etu zhenshchinu za posledniye paru dney ili okolo togo?"_

To Jonathan's excitement. the elderly man's eyes lit up at the picture as Coulson presented it. _"Na samom dele, u menya yest'! Nakonets ya uvidel yeye, ona visela vokrug otelya Liliany, pryamo cherez dorogu."_ The man pointed to a large structure across the street from him and the end of his statement.

Coulson looked to the building he pointed at and nodded to the man. _"Spacibo."_

"What was that about?" Jonathan asked Coulson as they crossed the street.

"Our first location lead." Coulson quickly answered.

As they arrived on the other side of the street, Ward's phone began to loudly ping. Ward wasted no time in answering it. "Did you locate Amador?" The agent asked.

 _"_ _What?"_ Skye's voice rang through their ear pieces. _"_ _No, not yet."_

Coulson and Ward looked to each other at this news, their expressions readless. Jonathan mentally shrugged at the two agents. It was kind of a big assumption for them to make, to assume that the van team would have tracked Amador by now. The hacking process would take time. More time than the five or ten minutes it had been since the team split. He knew that Skye and Fitz/Simmons were more than capable of hacking the system, but it would definitely take longer than this.

 _"_ _But,"_ Skye continued. _"_ _We've found a broadcast with some weird encrypted signal in it."_

Ward cocked his head while Jonathan and Coulson looked on in curiosity. A broadcast with an encrypted server attached to it? If that wasn't a lead to their fallen agent, Jonathan didn't know what was.

"You think Amador might be communicating on that signal?" Ward asked, voicing the question on all of the agents minds.

 _"Maybe,"_ Skye replied. " _But I called with an equally more pressing question for you, my S.O. What are we supposed to do if we have to pee?"_

Jonathan felt himself smirk and chuckle as Ward slowed in his steps, an expression of surprise, annoyance and amazement crossed the agents face and much to the amnesiac's amusement. If there was one thing Skye was good at, it was making Ward stop and show as many "What the Hell" faces as he could. It was one of the shared pastimes that Jonathan and Skye loved to indulge in and present to the rest of the team. And he certainly didn't see it ending anytime soon.

"... You broke protocol because you needed a bathroom break?" Ward both asked and demanded.

 _"It was a really, really, long drive,"_ Skye stressed. _"_ _And everyone's really nervous."_

Ward sighed. "There's a container in the bottom of the blue chest."

 _"Bottom of the blue chest."_ Skye repeated back to Fitz/Simmons. After a moment of clunking and shifting sounds, Skye spoke. _"Not the water bottle?"_ She asked in an annoyed tone.

"That's the one." Ward firmly replied.

Jonathan looked to Ward in surprise. "I genuinely can't tell if you're kidding or not, Ward." He said to the agent. "I really don't think a water bottle is the best item to use in their situation, especially for Simmons and Skye."

Ward turned to him. "They want a solution to their problem. This is a solution to their problem."

 _"_ _Did you never learn the thing that boy parts and girl parts are different?"_ Skye asked in continued annoyance. _"_ _And our parts aren't penises?"_

"Agent Coulson, Jonathan and I are trying to find a dangerous criminal." Ward said harshly. "If there's nothing else pressing..."

 _"_ _Well, listen,"_ Skye called out. _"Fitz wants to know if you packed any snacks."_

 _"I'm feeling a bit peckish."_ Fitz distant voice called out.

Ward's pulled the phone from his ear and hung up. The ear communicator in Jonathan's ear crackled and silenced as the phone signal was cut off and ended. Jonathan turned to the agent.

"You know, I don't think it's a crime to answer their questions." Jonathan said.

"We're supposed to be looking for a SHIELD turncoat that has the training to kill anyone she desires," Ward answered. "We don't have the time to fix every little feeling and need that each person on the team has."

"I really don't think hunger and bathroom relief count as 'little needs'." Jonathan replied.

If Ward heard Jonathan's reply, he didn't show it as he pushed ahead of the amnesiac and followed Coulson into the building in front of them. The team stepped through the front doors and were greeted by a middle-aged blonde woman at the front desk placing flowers on the wooden surface.

 _"Dobbry den."_ Coulson said.

"Good afternoon." The woman greeted in English (which Jonathan was happy of. He was tired of not understanding a word of what was happening.)

"I'm Agent Coulson," Coulson said. "This is Agent Ward and Agent Jonathan. We're looking for this young woman." He pulled out his phone and presented a photo of Akela to the woman.

The woman smiled in fondness. "Oh, she's my angel." The three men simultaneously looked to each other in confusion. Her angel?

"Why do you say that?" Jonathan asked.

"She has gift," The woman replied in excitement. "Knows things. She told me to go to doctor. He found tumor. I'm having surgery next week. This girl saved me."

An array of thoughts ran through Jonathan's mind, eradicating any past thoughts he once assumed about Amador. For one thing, it sounded like Amador did indeed posses some kind of precognitive ability. How else would she have known about this woman's tumor. The second thought is why exactly did she help the woman. If she was as cold and heartless as Ward thought, as Centipede soldiers seem to be, why would she go out of her way to help a civilian? And if she didn't share in the ways of other Centipede soldiers, why join them at all?

Just like Coulson, Jonathan began to suspect that there was another angle to all of this. And he had a feeling that this other angle was not one that he was going to like.

 **Skye**

"I can't stabilize it," Fitz said through the crackle and croak of the white noise. "There's an encrypted local signal competing."

"Mirror it over," Skye said as she picked up her own laptop and began opening her Rising Tide links and encrypters. "I have a couple of Rising Tide exploits that might work."

Fitz quickly ran his fingers over the keyboard of his monitor and the image quickly vanished from his monitor and, with a flash and a spark of noise, appeared on her laptop screen. The young hacker instantly went to work, moving her fingers with immense speed and agility as she quickly ran the white noise video through her programs. She was surprised by the amount of pure viruses trying to penetrate her laptop's defenses and firewalls. She had to admit, they might have even had a chance if not for her bodyguard programs.

She quickly moved through the signal's encrypted defense system, bypassing passwords and codes as she took full advantage of her Rising Tide system. After a few moments, she had taken down enough of the defensive systems to begin to clear and crystalize the picture in front of her.

"One last thing..." She announced in a sing-song voice as she continued to type. Suddenly, her laptop clicked and the image in front of her stabilized into a clear video image of a small trail in some trees. Skye smiled. "Ta-da and you're welcome."

Fitz and Simmons quickly moved towards Skye and crowded tightly around her (the duo scientists really had no concept of personal space) as they each examined the video in front of them. The video was continually shifting, moving from the tree path to a crossroads at a dirt road with a plain white van in the center of the path.

"Russian TV is kind of boring." Skye said to the two scientists.

"That looks a bit like our van." Fitz commented, his eyebrows scrunched in wonder.

Skye felt a wave of wonder and confusion come over her as well. Now that Fitz mentioned it, it did look a lot like the van that they currently sat in. In an instant, the video fluctuated, warping the colors into a phantom like grey and white. The white van that was once unpenetrable by eyes was now like a mechanical skeleton, with three figures standing in a bunch in the back of this phantom van.

"What are we looking at?" Skye asked, unable to hide the trace of fear creeping in her voice.

Beside her, Fitz slowly came to a full stand and began slowly waving his hands up and down. The middle figure in the video followed Fitz's movements exactly. Skye felt her heart almost completely freeze at that.

"Us." Fitz said, his voice now containing shock and fear.

In an instant, the size of the van began to increase, getting bigger and closer with every second. Before any of them could react, a crash ripped through the silence of the van, throwing Skye, Fitz/Simmons and the equipment violently to the floor. Fresh pain coursed through Skye's back as she impacted the floor. She didn't think she broke anything, thankfully, but that was the least of her worries at the moment.

"Let's get out of here!" Skye shouted as she stood and raced to the steering wheel of the van.

Outside the shattered window, Skye got a full view of the large semi-truck reverse and hold, it's engine revving for another attack on the van. Her hands shook as they rushed forward and clutched the key in the igniton. She violently turned the key as the truck continued to rev. Her blood went cold as the van's engine sputtered weakly. Her feet shot to the pedals of the car, but strained as they remained out of reach.

"Damn it, Ward." She muttered. "Why do you have to be so damn tall?" She turned to Fitz/Simmons who continued to struggle in the back of the van. "Call Coulson! Get the gun!"

Simmons quickly reached through the scattered and broken equipment, grabbed the gun and passed it on to Skye. Skye wasted no time quickly snatching the gun away from the scientist and positioning it towards the truck that now charged at full speed towards the van. As she did this, her eyes locked onto the figure driving and instantly recognized the face of the rouge agent they had been tracking throughout the course of the mission.

"It's her!" Skye called out as she examined the gun in front of her, her mind racing through all the gun lessons Ward had yelled into her. She took an intake of breath. "Safety off." She muttered. She pulled the final small lever on the pistol... and felt a thump in her lap as the ammo cartridge fell from the gun. Skye looked on for a silent second at the now useless gun.

"Bang?" She said in vain as the truck slammed into the van with a monsterous crash, throwing the van off the road and into the ravine and carrying the SHIELD personel with it.

 **Jonathan**

It was a cold rush through his blood when Jonathan got the SOS call from the van. His worst fear? The friends he had promised to ensure the safety of were battered and killed under the attack of an opponent none of them were there to stop. That was something that he would not see come to pass. And, thanks to fate itself, he wouldn't need to.

His concentration in his thoughts and pacing throughout the debriefing room of the Bus didn't stop Ward from continuing his rant to Agent Coulson about the situation. If anything, he thought it might have actually increased the willingness of Ward to argue with Coulson, as he was pretty sure with himself and the head agent both trying to see the Amador mission in a different light, Ward was working to make them both see the lack of hope in the scenario.

"Sir," Ward began. "Amador attacked you and your people. Whatever regard you hold for her isn't reciprocated." He leaned forward on the center table-monitor and fixed his furious eyes on Coulson's examining expression. "She just kicked us in the teeth." He growled.

Coulson's expression remained completely unchanging under Ward's fury. His eyes turned to Jonathan. "Jonathan," He called out, grabbing the amnesiacs attention. "How's the team?"

"Battered, bruised and shaken." Jonathan replied. "But thankfully, still alive and in one piece. The van absorbed most of the truck's blow and saved Skye and Fitz/Simmons from a lot of pain. And Amador was really on there to use the van attack as a means of escape, not destruction. I'd say we got the best scenario out of this whole thing."

"We're lucky her goal was just to knock the van over," Ward said to both of them. "It will probably take a while for our folks to refocus after an incident like this."

Jonathan found himself really agreeing with the words of Ward. After an incident like this, he wouldn't really blame Skye or Fitz/Simmons if they wanted to sit out of the rest of the mission. He knew it couldn't be easy having experienced an attack like that.

His thoughts were completely interrupted by the familier voice of the team's resident hacker. "I think I can recover the data signature of that encrypted broadcast," Skye said to them excitedly. "I don't understand it yet, but that's how she was watching us." She smiled. "Give me an hour. Maybe we can start watching back."

As Skye pushed away from the door and moved down the hall, Jonathan turned back to Ward, a smile on the amnesiac's face. "Sounds like the team is not as shaken as orginally thought." He said to the two men.

Ward adopted a flustered expression as he moved away from the table and moved down the hall. Coulson pushed away from the table as well, a fresh smile across his face.

"Let's get going." Coulson said to the amnesiac. "Sounds like the team is ready for their move against Amador. Best not keep them waiting."

"I couldn't agree more, Coulson." Jonathan said as he followed the head agent to the lab below.

...

"Something's wrong." Skye said to the team as Ward, Jonathan and Coulson entered the room. She quickly tapped her keyboard a few more times before her faced scrunched in confusion once more. "It's the same feed that was watching us in the van." She turned to Fitz/Simmons. "Uh, put it on the big monitor."

"Maybe the lens broke when the van rammed us." Simmons suggested as she transferred the feed to the main monitor.

"I hope she broke more than that." Skye muttered as the monitor flickered to life in front of her.

Jonathan looked to Skye and Fitz/Simmons as they worked. "That was quite an experience on all of you back there," Jonathan said. "I was genuinely worried for you all. How are you guys holding up?"

Fitz and Simmons looked to each other at this question. Their expressions held a look of confusion and surprise, like they were both absolutely shocked at the answer they were about to give to the amnesiac.

"We... actually found our work was really not that affected by the scenario that occured earlier." Simmons happily replied.

"If anything," Fitz added. "It actually increased the effectiveness of our work. The attack gave us some kind of glimpse into whatever kind of tracking device Amador uses and it really has slingshotted our research into her tactics forward."

"Really?" Jonathan asked, his smile widening at the news.

"Oh yeah," Skye said, looking up to him from her tablet. "After everything we've experienced working with this team so far, working past a truck ramming the van seems like a walk through the park when compared to working past imploding the Bus itself. It's definitely a good feeling to know that we've built up our nerves to the point where I can just work past the insanity that is SHIELD missions." She smiled at Jonathan. "But thanks for worrying and wondering, Jonathan. You're sweet to ask."

Jonathan felt a rush of warmth at Skye's words and a bit of heat to his cheeks. "I try my best." He replied to her, which was nothing but the truth. He always tried his best to keep the team on task, together and alive. They were all his surefire friends and allys in the amnesiac slate that was his life and he was certain he would rather not lose them.

His thoughts were halted by the monitor, as it finally cleared the jumbled pixelated image in front of them and present the crystal image of seemingly a mist covered lens blocking their sense of sight. Jonathan and the team looked to the screen in confusion.

"What exactly are we seeing right now?" Jonathan wondered aloud.

His question was swiftly answered by a hand that moved into frame and slowly dragged a clear streak against the mist covered mirror in front of them, revealing the reflected face of Akela Amador.

"It's a mirror." Coulson said in quiet shock as he moved to the screen. "Are we recording this?"

"Uh..." Skye quickly tapped her tablet. "We are now."

"Whoa." Fitz said as the team stepped towards the monitor in fascination.

"How are we seeing this?" Coulson asked as Akela cleared the last of the mist from the mirror, giving the team a full view of her face and room. "Where's the camera?"

Once again, Amador inadvertently answered their question. They watched as she reached down in front of her and placed her hand in front of a line of metal mechanical adjusters. The team watched in shocked silence as Amador grabbed the center adjuster and slowly placed the sharp metal tool in the side of her left eye.

Fitz winced and even Jonathan felt a rush of goosebumps throughout his skin as Amador penetrated her eye with the metal tool. To the team's absolute shock, the penetration of the tool adjusted the screens definition just slightly.

"It's her eye," May said in shock. "She's the camera."

Jonathan stumbled and gripped his head as painful surge of energy suddenly ran through his mind. What was that about?

Then, as suddenly as the pain came, it intensified as the monitor screen completely shifted in color, displaying a shadowed figure that used to be Amador. But what garnered the most attention was what was highlighted behind Amador's left eye. It's mechanical holds seemed to be outstretched into the skull itself, holding it firmly in place, like the device was designed to be difficult to remove without irrepreable damage. A large whirring device was located directly behind the eyeball itself and it looked to be tailored specifically to enhancing the eyeball itself. For what reason, Jonathan was not sure.

As he continued to examine the device present in Akela, he felt another spike of pain and energy in his mind. His hands shot to his head once more as his legs slightly buckled. What the hell is going on? Jonathan thought. Before another thought could pass through Jonathan's fluctuating head, another wave of pain impacted the amnesiac. The pain was now prominent in the mid-section of his mind, a pain he hadn't felt since the pyramid.

It continued to fluctuate more violently and painfully. Until, all at once, everything stopped. A single powerful thought appeared in Jonathan's mind through the glow of pain. Project Cricket: A connection to the enemies of Centipede. Project secure from everyone except those who are part of the Process. Direct link to the handler is required. Always in close proximity. To his shock, the thought remained anchored to his mind. He knew what the device was. What it was capable of. What it could lead to. It was a feeling he never thought he could experience again.

"Jonathan," The sudden voice of Coulson said to him, completely jolting Jonathan from his thoughts. "What can you make of this?"

Jonathan looked to the agent, the team, then to the monitor. He knew what this device was capable of, what it symbolized, what it meant in the chase for Centipede. He felt like he wanted to tell them what he knew, tell them what he remembered. But for a reason he both understood and didn't understand, he knew he couldn't.

"I'm not sure what it is, Coulson," Jonathan lied. "I'm not remembering anything like it."

Coulson studied him for a nerve-wracking moment before turning back to the monitor. Jonathan hoped against everything he didn't give any sign of his deception to the agent.

"It switches to backscatter when she closes her eyes." Fitz observed.

"You're a robot," Skye said to Ward. "Can you do that?"

Ward fixed the hacker with a glare while Jonathan felt a small smirk come across himself for a brief second before fading. No matter the mood, Skye was always good for a laugh.

"Who has tech like this?" Ward asked.

"We don't," Fitz answered in shock. "Not like this. That's not small and internal. This is at least a decade ahead

"Centipede?" Skye asked Jonathan.

"I'm not sure." Jonathan answered, both truthfully and a bit deceptively. He hated lying to any of the team, but everything in his mind told him the deception he was harboring was going to be worth it soon.

"Though," Fitz piped up. "Now that I've seen it, I could maybe approximate it- the backscatter x-ray, a micro-transceiver that somehow doesn't fry her brain, an internal power source..."

"All miniaturized." Simmons finished. "Honestly, it's..."

"That's genius." Fitz said.

"...Genius." Simmons agreed with a smile.

The screen fluctuated again, restoring the screen to normal color once more and rendering the once phantom face of Amador to normal. She looked into the mirror, frown apparant. Jonathan found himself wondering what she was thinking at this moment.

"We have to bring her in." Coulson announced to the team.

"We have to take her out," May firmly replied. "She's a weapon." The team looked to May in a bit of shock, but she continued. "I'll call HQ, see if we can bring a task force in to help us." She turned to leave the room.

Coulson turned away from the monitor and turned to her. "Our team can handle this." He said to her.

May stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned back to Coulson, the fiercest glare Jonathan had seen her give now locked on Coulson. The team remained quiet and backed out of her way as she rounded the table and approached the head agent.

"I get it," May said to him. "You feel responsible- maybe you pushed her too hard." At this, Coulson tore his eyes away from the monitor displaying his former apprentice and locked eyes with May. "But she tried to kill three members of our team."

"If she wanted us dead, we'd be dead." Coulson sternly replied.

"We got lucky," May growled. "You want to risk our lives again?"

"You told me you were ready for combat," Coulson said to her. "That you had my back."

"Don't ever doubt it." May fiercely replied. "But you are defending this girl at the expense of the team."

"Because we protect our own." Coulson growled back.

"With all due respect, sir," Ward piped up from the back. "She's not one of our own."

Coulson's gaze noticebly lowered from May completely and Jonathan felt complete sympathy for him. He really did want to save his former protege, but the circumstances throughout the day had not tipped the situation in his favor. The team held no love for Amador after everything she had done. Jonathan felt himself wishing that he could help Coulson in some way... and the monitor provided that way.

As Jonathan looked on at the two arguing agents, a flick of black colored writing in the side of his sights brought his attention back to the screen. His eyes locked on a notepad now prominent on the screen, the young former agent swiftly dancing a sharpie across the page. The words that slowly appeared on the paper sent a shiver down Jonathan's spine.

"Uh, guys." Jonathan said, breaking the tension in the room. "You may want to take a look at this."

The team quickly turned their eyes away from the Coulson-May staredown and turned back to the screen. Their expressions quickly changed to one of shock and confusion like the one Jonathan currently held himself. The notepad that was now presented on the screen held three simple words: Can I sleep?

"Why does she have to ask for permission?" Simmons asked after a moment. Her words were quickly answered by a flash of quickly typed out words on the side of the screen. "STAND BY..."

Coulson's expression completely changed in a matter of a second from confusion to shocked realization.

"She's not being watched," He said to the team. "She's being controlled." He turned to the team. "We have to find her. We'll take shifts watching the feed. Sooner or later, she'll look at something that will clue us in on her location."

May visibly studied Coulson for a brief moment before she spoke. "I'll take the first watch." She said to him.

Coulson slowly turned to May, questioning and inquiry across his face (Jonathan didn't blame him, especially after a showdown like that). After a moment, he nodded to her and turned to move quickly out of the room. With that, the rest of the team began to move out of the room as well. They all knew they couldn't do anything at the moment. All they could do was wait.

As Jonathan followed the team out of the lab, he noticed that Agent May's glare was no longer focused on the monitor or Coulson. To his chilling realization, May's glare was now fixated on him and him alone. Wonder and bit of fear filled Jonathan as he quickly looked away. What was that about?

"Hey," Skye said to him as she appeared at his side, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You okay? You kind of paled and spaced out for a minute back there. Another memory blackout?"

Skye's question made Jonathan mentally question his own decision. Was what he was doing important enough to keep from the SHIELD team that had helped and befriended him, the team that had helped save so many people so many times before? He felt like he should tell Skye everything, tell the team everything. He owed them that. But everything in his mind, every single thought, told him that if he really wanted to help them, he would keep his deception alive.

"No, nothing like that," Jonathan answered. "It's exhaustion. This job is killing my ability to get a solid's night sleep."

Skye chuckled. "You're preaching to the choir on that one, Jonathan. I can say I completely understand why there's so much agression among our senior agents now. Imagine the last time they got a solid nights sleep."

Jonathan smirked. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's been a couple years for them," He replied, which got a chuckle from the hacker. "Daily nightcaps is an idea the team should seriously consider."

Skye snorted and absent-mindedly began chewing her fingernail. "Truthfully, that's not a bad idea, Jonathan," She replied. "That's an idea you should consider throwing in at the next team meeting."

Jonathan smiled as he came to a stop in front of the Bus's training room. "The way the tension is between the senior agents, I'm tempted to try."

"Well," Skye said as she made her down the hall. "You'll get my vote for it on one condition."

"And what condition is that?" Jonathan asked.

Skye stopped and turned to him, an evil and playful grin across her face. "First three rounds are on you." She said to him. With that, she turned back around and made her way down the hall and out of Jonathan's sight.

Jonathan smirked. He had to give her credit, the exchange worked wonders on his mood. He definitely felt a lot less guilt-ridden and sad, thank's to the interaction. But, as his luck often went, the feeling definitely didn't last.

As he pressed his ID card into the door ID system, he felt a sudden and painful impact against the base of his spine. The hit rocketed him forward with a jolt of pain and Jonathan quickly stumbled and fell, painfully impacting the mat with a sharp thwack.

He instantly felt his arm and leg muscles beginning to tighten as he readied to defend himself against his attacker. However, before he could, the attacker spoke in a familier tone that jolted him out of his defensive mindset.

"What do you know?" May growled as she circled around him.

Jonathan looked up to the angry agent. "May!" He exclaimed. "I don't know what your..."

"Jonathan," May muttered. With frightning speed she grabbed his left arm and pinned it painfully against his back. "You've trained with me long enough to know I can shatter nearly every part of your arm without breaking a sweat."

Jonathan instantly stopped struggling. He knew she wasn't bluffing in the slightest.

"Now, do yourself a favor and stop lying to me." She said sternly. "I've seen you have your memory lapses before. What you had back there was a complete memory lapse. Coulson would have noticed it too had he not had all of his attention on the monitor. You remembered something about that device and decided not to tell anyone. You tried to lie your way past the team, past SHIELD."

His mind acted before his reasoning. "May, I didn't lieeegghh!" He cried out as May applied more pressure to his arm.

"What are you hiding?" May asked. "What did your mind recover that caused you to betray the team, to betray Coulson like this? If you thought you could recover all your memories and intel and use it against SHIELD without anyone noticing..."

"What?" At that moment, Jonathan felt his mind and body fully succumb to the sense of confession. "No, no! Agent May, listen. I'm not trying to betray anyone, much less SHIELD or this team! I haven't recovered all of my memories, but I did recover a memory about the device in Amador's eye. You have to understand, the information that device has is invaluable in tracking down leads on Centipede."

"Then why not tell the team this information?" May asked.

"Because if the team knew, they would try to find a link to the device," Jonathan answered. "I respect and care for them all, but I know them. They would try to find the most secure way to connect to the device itself, but I can't risk that."

"You couldn't risk SHIELD finding out more about the device?" May asked. "Why is that?"

He looked to the agent. "If the team or SHIELD tries to connect to the device, they will be detected and whatever link the device had to Centipede will be forcibly severed. They takes no chances when it comes to their information. That much I remember. If they detect any kind of interference, they will sever any kind of connection they have to the device and extract every ounce of information from it. We won't get anything from it and we'll be right back to square one."

May studied him. "If there's no safe way to extract the information from the device, why bother keeping it a secret at all?" She asked.

Jonathan sighed. "Because I know a way to extract the information," He replied. "It's risky, it's a breach of about a thousand of SHIELD's safety protocals and it's something Coulson would never approve of, but it's a way."

There was a moment of complete silence, which Jonathan knew was May going over every word he had said to her. The pressure against his arm suddenly released and his arm fell back to his side. As Jonathan took the time to allow his arm to regain it's feeling, May circled around Jonathan and crouched, glare still fixated on him.

"What's this risk you need to take?" May suspicously asked.

Jonathan struggled to a stand and pulled a small hard-drive device. "I got this hard-drive from the lab," The amnesiac explained. "It was made a couple missions ago by Fitz-Simmons. Designed to extract information from devices by force."

"You said Centipede would lock down their information once they detected any SHIELD interference in their system," The agent said. "What makes you think that trying to extract the information on your own will be any easier then SHIELD trying to gain it?"

Jonathan turned to her. "Centipede has been searching for me non-stop ever since you guys found me, right? Their whole goal so far has been seemingly trying to recover me." He turned the hard-drive in his hand. "My thought is, if I confront Amador, they'll be less hesitant to dump all the information they have contained in her device. They would want to provide Amador with as much information as they could in order to capture me. They don't see or know me as a part of SHIELD. They just see me as something that needs to be recovered." He looked back to her. "If I do this right..."

"You could steal more information then Centipede would ever want." May finished. "You realize the risk involved in this little mission of yours is astronomical, right?"

"I know," Jonathan replied. "But if we get this information, SHIELD could get a significant advantage in dealing with any future Centipede attacks. If you ask me, the reward is well worth the risk." He sighed. "The real problem I see in the plan is Amador. I doubt she'll just stand there and allow me to stick a hard-drive in her eye. And based on the fact that Coulson trained her and she's currently being controlled by an organization that threatened multiple lives on multiple occasions, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to distract or pin her down long enough to get a full extract."

May remained silent for a few moments, her expression relaying that she was in deep thought. Suddenly and to Jonathan's confusion, she quickly moved out of the room and towards the door. Before the amnesiac could even begin to question it, she spoke. "Lucky enough for you, Jonathan, I believe your telling the truth," She turned to him. "And that's good for you, because not only have you gained the belief of the only qualified agent who has no quarrels bending the rules to end a threat," She crossed her arms. "You gained the belief of the agent who already had a plan brewing. A plan that may just fit perfectly in with yours."

 **Coulson**

Coulson had never been so torn. His former protege, the person he had spent so much time connecting with and getting to know and care for, was in the process of attempting to destroy the team he had built from the ground-up. While he was attempting to see the good still left in Amador, he couldn't deny all the actions she was taking was making it harder and harder to justify that she had any self-control left.

He had done everything in his power when he first took her in to make sure that she would have the instincts and skills to survive the life of a SHIELD agent. Now, she was being controlled by a virtually unknown organization and fighting against the government agency that she once worked alongside. Coulson wanted the complete safety of his team. He didn't want to see any of them die. But that feeling went the same for Amador. He knew he couldn't let her die at the hands of the organization that she once (And possibly still) believed in. If there was any way to bring her back from Centipede control...

His thoughts were interrupted by a short knock at his door. Coulson looked up from his desk to see Skye standing in his doorway.

"I just wanted to give you a quick update," She said to him. "She's still at the hotel, so..." She pursed her lips. "And that's the update."

Coulson felt himself smirk as Skye fully entered the room.

"It's a pretty weird day, huh?" She asked him. "It's like we were trapped in a van shaped pinata."

"That should never have happened." Coulson said to her.

"It's okay," Skye assured. "It wasn't nearly as terrible as watching Mom and Dad fight downstairs."

"That shouldn't have happened ethier." Coulson replied in sincerity. When May and him got into their vocal arguements, they always made it a point to not do them in front of anyone else, especially a team they were working on together. Was not exactly a morale booster to see the top agents argue and bicker like teenagers. "You regret coming along?"

"It's pretty impulsive," Skye admitted as she looked around the room. "Even for me. I still don't know much about you..." She looked to his collection. "Except for you value really old stuff." She turned to him. "And you value me."

Coulson met the hacker's gaze, his curiosity in the conversation peaked.

"First person to do that in a long time," Skye admitted. "So, I happen to believe you're an excellent judge of character. If you think this woman deserves a second chance, we should give it to her." With that, Skye turned and moved out of Coulson's office. As Coulson processed the hackers words, she stopped at the doorway and turned back to him. "... Even though she tried to kill me and I kind of hate her guts."

As Skye moved away from the doorway and out of sight, Coulson felt himself smirk. If Skye was any indication about his judge of character, Coulson felt his team was the best batch of people he could have possibly picked. They were all the best choices he could have made. Jonathan, Ward, May, Fitz-Simmons. Even Akela.

The day he brought her to SHIELD, he remembered had seen a spark in her. A spark that he had seen in his team now. He remembered that he had picked Akela has his protege because he felt that she was the kind of person who could make the best decisons for SHIELD and the people of the world without hesitation. He had taught Akela to never give in and hold out till the end. To always see the potential in people. He always told her there was always hope to save someone. She just had to wait and look.

Coulson felt a rush of stubbornness at the remembrance of his words towards his protege. He had taught Amador to always find the best solution, no matter the circumstance. He had taught her those words.

"It's time for me to stick by them." Coulson said as he stood up from his desk.

...

The minute Coulson walked into the lab, he knew something was wrong. The lab was vitrually empty, save for the form of a sleeping Fitz sprawled across his work desk. The monitor that once held a clear image of Amador's vision was now dark and vacant, almost as if there was never a feed at all. And the desk that once presented the ever-watching gaze of May was now empty as well.

Coulson's expression scrunched into confusion. May was never one to leave her post once assigned. Something was seriously off.

He quickly turned to the sleeping scientist. "Fitz!"

Fitz instantly jolted and his head lifted from his desk. "What?" He asked sleepily as his half-open eyes landed on Coulson.

"What happened?" Coulson asked. "Where's May?"

"Uh," Fitz looked towards the monitor and the work stations surrounding it. "I don't know. She was watching the transmission." The researcher quickly reached forward and grabbed his tablet. "Amador must be sleeping." He muttered, motioning to the black screen.

"Play it back," Coulson said to him as he stepped towards the monitor.

Fitz quickly obliged as he moved to Coulson's side. The monitor instantly whizzed to life once more, speeding past Amador's movement from her bed and in her room. They only rewinded for a moment before Coulson motioned Fitz to stop at the flash of white text.

"There," Coulson said as the video feed flashed white text in front of the two men, reading 'TODOROV BLDG, PROX CARD TO DELTA 5, 9:00'. "She got another message. Todorov Building."

As Coulson quickly ran this new information through his mind, a flash of white paper suddenly drew his complete attention.

"Wait. Stop." He quickly said to Fitz, who halted the video almost instantly. Coulson took another couple steps towards the monitor, his eyes squinting to try and get a better look at the quick writing across the paper in front of him. He didn't need HD quality on the screen to make out exactly what was laid out in front of him. "Can you get closer on that receipt?"

Fitz nodded to Coulson and, with a speedy swipe and quick tap on his tablet, the monitor's picture perfectly zoomed in on the receipt, bolstering the once unreadable text to large black text sprawled across half the screen. The image in front of them was of a receipt resting perfectly on top of a black square check. The black text sprawled across the top of the paper proudly displayed the words, Crown Regent Hotel; Minsk, Belarus.

Coulson knew he should have felt excitement. He should have felt anticipation knowing that they had their first rock-solid lead on Amador's location. Unfortunately, he couldn't experience them as he began to quickly piece together everything that was happening around them. May's dissapearence and the information reveal from the feed linked completely.

"Damn it, May," Coulson muttered as he pushed away from the desk in front of him and moved his way out of the lab. "Wake the others," He said to Fitz as he passed.

Fitz quickly tapped a few more times on his tablet before looking up to Coulson. "Uh, sir?" He called out nervously.

"What?" Coulson asked, turning back to the researcher.

"Unfortunately," Fitz replied. "It seems like May is not the only one who may have gone after Amador."

 **Akela Amador**

Akela's eyes shot open at the click of her lamp, her senses screaming at her a confirmation she didn't need her eyes for: someone was in her room. Faster then she realized, she had shot up completely from her laying position on her bed, her fists clenched, her muscles tightened and the system in her eye fully activated. However, before she could look up and get an ID on her intruder, the person spoke. And she spoke something that made her stop in her tracks.

"Whoever's monitoring you," A feminine but hard voice said to her. "Do they have audio?"

Amador stopped herself from making visual contact on this person and she kept her eyes glued to the floor as a number of questions began to run through her mind. They... knew about her eye. They... weren't attacking. They didn't know enough about the device to know if it had audio. This wasn't Centipede. There was only one organization capable of both tracking her down and learning about the device hidden behind her eye.

"No," Amador answered. "But they'll use facial recognition to determine you're a SHIELD agent."

"Then I don't have to introduce myself." The feminine voice answered.

"Now," A sudden masculine voice said a little distance away from the female voice, startling Amador. "The real question is, do I have to introduce myself? Or has Centipede introduced me in their own way already?"

That voice, Amador thought to herself. I've heard it before. At first, Amador couldn't recall when or where, but a shocked realization settled over her as she fully remembered the voice, the same voice that had filled the audio files Centipede had wired to her device. The same voice that was accomponied by blackened out evaluation files, facial analysis profile and the voice that had all of Centipede scrounging to get any dribble of info on.

"You're Jonathan," Amador said out loud. "Centipede's most wanted man."

"So Centipede has sent you information on me then." Jonathan said.

"Not a lot," Amador answered. "But I have enough information to know that, if I were to get a visual on you, they would have me do everything in my power to apprehend you and call every available reinforcement in the city if I'm not enough."

"That's some dedication to their pursuit." Jonathan said.

"And that dedication is only going to skyrocket once they realize your fully allied with SHIELD." Amador replied.

"Which is why they're not going to know by the end of this." The feminine voice promised.

Amador wanted to have faith that this SHIELD agent and her words, that she could pull a veil over Centipede's eyes. But, after everything she has seen Centipede do and what they were capable of... "Let's hope your right," Amador replied, her eyes still fixed to the ground. There was a moment of pause as Amador debated her prominent question to the duo. Finally, she relented. "Did Coulson send you?"

"No," The woman quickly answered.

"We came on our own desire," Jonathan added. "Not on SHIELD's."

"Coulson feels sorry for you," The woman added, the volume increase in her voice confirming that she was stepping forward. "I don't. We're bringing you into SHIELD."

"Where we can free you from your implant," Jonathan added. "And you can tell us everything you can on Centipede to help us bring them down."

"You'll be given a fair trial," The woman said. "And no one else has to get hurt."

Amador slowly shook her head. "You have no idea, do you?"

"We know that you receive orders," The woman said to her.

"And that you're forced to follow them under threat of a fail-safe," Jonathan said.

"Then you both know that once they see you, only one of us gets to walk out of here." Amador ominously told them. After a moment of unsure silence between the three, Amador finally decided to look up. There, in her sights, stood both the fugitive and the agent (who Amador chillingly recognized as Agent Melinda May, otherwise known as the Cavalry.).

May wore a tight black SHIELD standard stealth-suit, complete with a belt with a holstered pistol and a wide assortment of covered carriers with unknown items within. Jonathan wore a pure black v-neck with a SHIELD-issue item-carrier zip up jacket covering the shirt. He also wore a belt with a holstered pistol attached to his hip, but the way it was positioned on his hip told the former apprentice that he had no intention of using it.

Amador came to a full stand by the side of her bed as new orders flashed across her vision. She stared down the two people in her room, her fists tightly clenched.

"Ethier I capture Jonathan and kill you," She growled. "Or they kill me."

Jonathan stepped towards her, his expression worried, but his fists clenched and his stance ready for battle. Beside him, May assumed the same stance. "You don't have to do this," Jonathan said in one last attempt to stop her. "There's a way to deactivate the kill-switch and stop them from hacking your eye. All I need is time. You don't have to do this."

More then anything, Amador wanted to remove the device and restore her freedom once more. She was almost tempered to risk everything and attempt to end her control here. But just as sudden as the thought came, it disappeared as the white text appeared over her vision. Her expression hardened and she clenched her fists.

"Unfortunately," She growled. "I do." With that, she charged at the fugitive and the agent, giving a war cry as she moved to fufill the will of Centipede.

 **Next Chapter:** _The battle begins between Amador and Jonathan/May as the agents of SHIELD work to free her from the curse of Centipede control and death. But if they expect Centipede to allow them to continue to move against their plans with no consequences, they are about to be proven truly wrong._


	9. Chapter 9: Shooting, Surgery and Sed

**Author's Note:** _The support has BEEN AMAZING for this series. PM's, reviews, follows, favorites! Thank you so much for all of your asking and support! Special thanks to War Sage for always checking on my progress and keeping me going! I appreciate it, my friend! I am getting tired of all these long intervels that I put my stories on, so I'm going to attempt to place all my stories on a schedule to properly sort them out and even add some space for some other stories. I will let ya'll know when I have the schedule fully solidified. This year will be the year of the fanfiction stories! But in the meantime, NEW CHAPTER! And Infinity War was FANTASTIC... and sad. GO SEE IT!_

 **Chapter Eight: Shooting, Surgery and "Seduction" (End of S1, E4)**

 **Jonathan**

She moved faster than Jonathan could ever have imagined.

The amnesiac had only so many experiences to compare to when it came to combat. The teams bout with Peterson (which seemed like years ago), the gunfight in Peru, the fight on the Bus, the battle in Malta and, of course, his training with May. In each of those scenarios, he had always thought that he had seen the human pinnacle of speed when it came to fighting.

Akela Amador surpassed and broke that milestone in the blink of an eye for Jonathan. Faster than Jonathan could even think, Amador had sprung from her seated position on her bed and had a pistol leveled at his head. Whatever fighting instincts he had could not and did not react in the space of time it took for Amador to react. Jonathan had no doubt in his mind: If it hadn't been for May, he would have been killed or captured by the young woman faster than he ever would have realized.

May sprung out with ferocious speed, her boot making contact with Amador's hand before the woman's finger could even hit the trigger of the gun. Akela let out a startled and pained grunt as her gun went clattering into the unknown, but it did not deter her in the slightest. The unwilling force of Centipede used the momentum of the recoil to whirl around and shoot a lightning fast leg jab towards May, who easily sidestepped it, expression never-changing.

Jonathan strided forward in an instant, his hands slapping onto Akela's leg as he grabbed hold of her mid-jab. Akela's brief look of shock and complete anger was just the moment May needed, her fist shooting forward to Akela's nose with an echoing crack with her second punch slamming into the woman's chest, begetting another yell of sharp pain from the Centipede warrior.

Nose bleeding, Akela threw her fist back towards Jonathan, who quickly dropped Akela's leg and shot his arm up to block the incoming attack. He felt an immense explosion of pressure and pain against his arm as her foot made impact, rattling the teeth in his skull. She was definitely not pulling her punches (or kicks, in this situation).

She drove her attack on the amnesiac, throwing punch after punch which Jonathan blocked to best of his ability, though he wasn't sure how much more damage his arms could take. While she pressed Jonathan, she threw continual leg jabs at May in an attempt to block and drive both fronts of attack from her, which she seemed to be doing with ease.

Right before he felt he may finally falter against her attacks, May saw an opening. Sidestepping and skimming a jab, she quickly closed the distance between her and Amador, delivering another blow against the former protege's cheek with a painful _crack._ The warrior of Centipede threw a few fast punches towards May to drive her back. And that was all Jonathan needed.

He threw his foot forward into the back of her knee, faltering her attack and breaking her patterned strikes instantly. As she grunted in pain, May savagely pressed her attack, dealing blow after blow against Amador and pushing her back and in the view of Jonathan, who struck her with another leg jab against her chest.

May whirled forward with a kick, but Amador quickly dodged, whirling around and out of range of May's attack. She faced her two combatants, blood streaming down her bruised nose, colored bruises peppering her body. Jonathan watched in complete sympathy as her face contorted in pain upon ever movement.

She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to fight ethier of them. She didn't want to keep fighting. More than anything, it seemed she just wanted freedom from whatever the hell Centipede did to her. Back in the first couple of days after he woke up, Jonathan had actually considered going back to Centipede. He had convinced himself that he didn't know the whole story and that maybe Centipede had an agenda that justified the means.

But, after seeing what Centipede was doing to recruit their people, their methods of empowerment and ensured loyalty to those they saw as pawns to their cause, Jonathan lost a majority of his thought to return to them. People who did this to other people didn't do this for any kind of good. And it made Jonathan continue to question what kind of reason he had in the past to work for them in any regard.

Before Jonathan could even begin to forge his thoughts into pleading words to stop Akela's attack in any way, she snarled and rushed forward towards the two agents once more, swinging her leg towards Jonathan. He quickly assumed a defensive position to defend his exposed legs, but that was not Akela's intended target.

She stopped just short of striking Jonathan and used the attention on her attack to attempt a sneak attack on May, throwing her shoulder back to the agent. The senior agent quickly blocked, but the grunt showcased by the agent showed that the blow was far from undamaging.

She attempted to throw her fist back against Jonathan once more. He was able to catch the blow, but his hand cracked painfully as he caught the blow. Pushing through the pain, Jonathan pulled her arm back and delivered a blow to her shoulder to slightly incapacitate her arm. Grunting in pain and anger, she whirled around, throwing her fists out as she did so. Both blows connected with May and Jonathan, but they continued their fight, neither willing to submit to Akela.

She glared at them as she screamed out another battle cry. She threw an uppercut to the amnesiac, which connected painfully against his mending ribs. But, using the closeness of Amador's arm, he brought his own arm down on hers with all the force he could muster, emitting a crack that echoed across the room. She snarled and threw her leg back towards May to halt the advance of the Cavalry.

May instantly caught it and, with her own snarl, twisted around Akela's leg and pushed it forward with all of her strength. The leg painfully snapped into Amador's hip and, with a scream of rage, sent her flying back against the table and tumbling to the ground with a large crash and shatter. She laid back first on the ground, her teeth gritted in pain and agony.

"Stop." Jonathan demanded as he and May closed in.

"You can't win." The senior agent added.

"I can't stop," Amador hissed at them as she came to a painful stand, her hand wiping away the blood on her face. "I can't afford to stop."

Before ethier the asset or the agent could respond, Akela threw her arm back once more, this time making impact with the lamp beside her. The light exploded into shards and sparks as the light vanished around the room and, much to Jonathan's shock and horror, engulfed the room with complete darkness. He knew in an instant why she had done it and so did May.

"Back-to-back!" She hissed to Jonathan.

They pressed back-to-back instantly, their hands at combat position as they circled around the darkness, the only sound to them being their labored breaths and their boots as they circled the room.

They both knew that she held a full advantage in this kind of environmejnt and they were at every kind of disadvantage. Jonathan never felt his nerves stand on such an edge. Every muscle in his body was in a tense lock and his eyes moved wildly around as he tried to adjust to the darkness around him. It was the absolute equivalent of watching a horror movie where you knew what was about to happen, but were powerless to stop it.

Both SHIELD personnel strained their ears to listen to any kind of sound that would point them to the direction of Amador, but the room remained deathly quiet. Jonathan and May continued to keep their eyes locked in front of them, waiting for any kind of movement, any kind of sign to catch their eyes and show where the warrior of Centipede was.

Too late they heard the click of the pistol near the front of the bed. They both turned to see a slight gleam of metal flash in front of them, powerless to stop the immenint shot towards them as Amador leveled the sights right towards the head of May.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of light behind Amador, quickly grabbing her attention away from both Jonathan and May. She whirled around and a gunshot ripped through the air, sending the two SHIELD personnel reeling back at the sudden sound. A spark of elecricity crackled as Amador seized up with a yelp of pain and fell back first to the ground, her body unmoving and her eyes closed, unconcious at last.

Jonathan, feeling his heart fully skip a beat, rushed to Amador's side, hard-drive out of pocket and at the ready. Hand on her neck for a pulse (that was thankfully still present), Jonathan thrusted the hard-drive forward and into the side of her mechanical eye, which impacted against her forehead with a flash of sparks and a light line of blood. Worst-case scenario that could have resulted from this was and explosion that kills Amador and, quite possibly, Jonathan as well.

The amnesiac would by lying if he said that there wasn't an insane amount of neverousness and cold sweat during the insertion of the drive. Thankfully, the Centipede tech and the drive seemed to compliment each other pretty well. But if there was any celebration to be had as a result of the success, it wasn't there or then as the man who had rescued them was near instantaneously recognized by both agent and asset.

"Coulson," May said in a voice that was all but a mutter.

"Coulson!" Jonathan said with a bit more shock and surprise as the head agent of the team strided forward towards Amador, holstering his pistol as he did so. "How did you-"

"We'll discuss everything that's happened later," Coulson replied as he reached down and lifted the unconcious form of Amador up, his glance to both Jonathan and May showing that he had _much_ on his mind to discuss with them. "Right now, we need to leave."

He left no room for discussion as he stood and quickly made his way to door and out to the hall with Amador. May and Jonathan, detecting the speed and tone of his voice, didn't even attempt to argue against Coulson's decision as they quickly followed him.

Jonathan, doing his best to shake off the wounds and bruises inflicted to him, quickly caught up to Coulson as the head agent caught them up on what he had learned.

"Your duo mission was effective in engaging and keeping Amador here long enough for us to extract her," Coulson said to them as he continued to walk. "But it certainly wasn't quiet by any means, which was one of the reasons I wanted you to come to the entire team if you found out her location."

"We secured her," May said to the agent as they walked. "And we may have garnered more information on Centipede if what Jonathan said is right. I say it was well worth the risk."

"We'll find out right now," Coulson replied, no particular anger in his voice, but slightly strained as they turned the corner of the hall and descended the steps. "Our surviellance of the hotel has shown that an influx of both personell and vehicle movement. And it's all culminating to the hotel."

Jonathan, who once felt pride and happiness at the fact that they had secured info and even Amador, felt his blood freeze at the news. He never gave a second thought to the fact that Amador's signal would prompt a response of this magnitude from Centipede in such a short amount of time.

"How many?" Jonathan asked as they neared the stairwells.

"Too many," Coulson replied as he shifted Amador in his arms to free up his right arm.

"What's the plan?" May asked, her fists clenched and ready for combat once more.

"There's no way we can outright stop the men that are storming the hotel," Coulson replied. "We don't have the manpower necessary for that strategy. But what we do have may work on a different scale." He looked to them. "Misdirection."

As the sounds of engines became more prevelent outside the hotel alongside loud shouts, Jonathan looked to Coulson in genuine wonderment and even a little worry, shadows appearing near the door at the bottom of the stairwell. "How are we supposed to redirect them?"

" _We're_ not." Coulson answered. Disregarding the confused looks from Jonathan and May and the gathering outside the hotel, Coulson's hand went to his ear and pressed down. "Fitz, you're on. Left side of the hotel would be preferable." He lowered his arm and turned to May and Jonathan. "Get ready to move. The minute the signal is sent out, it will give us our window."

As if on cue, a series of shouts echoed through the halls of the hotel as the men and armed soldiers that had surrounded the building cried out in a mix of curses and orders, their voices mixed with an odd distant static sound. Jonathan looked on as the shadows of the men who had neared the door at the bottom of the staircase retreated and moved towards the left, dissapearing from view.

"Fitz bought us a few minutes by scrambling their signals and pinpointing the source on the other side of the building," Coulson said as he turned his back to the stairway and moved forward. "Hopefully, a few minutes are all we're going to need. MOVE." The duo did not argue as they quickly followed the head agent down the hall and towards the stairs stretching to the upper levels.

They quickly ascended the steps and began to quickly move down the hall of the third floor, where the trio's eyes met with two armed men, standing in the center of the hall. Their reaction was near instantenous, both of their eye's flew open, shock and anger ever present on their expressions. They were both large in stature, their sleveless bullet-proof vests exposing the intricate tatoos flowing down their arms.

The leading man of the two quickly surged forward, his hand moving to the pistol holstered to his side. "Hey! Stop-" That's all he managed to get out before the boot of May slammed into his chest, knocking every ounce of air out of him all at once. The man crumpled to the ground with a wheezing cough before the agent of SHIELD spun and delivered a hard kick to the downed soldier's cheek, sending him to the ground with a grunt.

The second man, getting over his shock, drew his pistol and charged in towards May. Jonathan clenched his hands into fists and allowed his thoughts to flow through his head. There was a lot in his head involving his decisions and actions as of recently, but if there was one thing he was sure of, he knew he couldn't allow May to be flanked and for any of them to be captured. Not after seeing what happened to Amador.

Jonathan took off at a dead sprint, intercepting the soldier going after May. He lunged forward and grabbed the tip of the gun, swiveling it up with all the force he could muster, cracking the man's hand and prompting an angry and pained grunt from the soldier. The gun fired off mere inches from Jonathan, who flinched at the flash and explosion of sound. Moving past the intense ringing in his ears, his foot shot out and impacted against the knee of man, cracking it and sending the soldier to his knees.

The man, teeth gritting through the pain, moved his free hand to his side and drew a large bowie knife. A colorful array of curse words ran through Jonathan's mind as the soldier lunged forward with the blade. The amnesiac released his grip on the man's now broken hand and gun and moved his left-arm to intercept the stab. His arm collided with that of the Centipede grunt's, halting the stab altogether. That did not stop the blade from painfully sliding across his arm, drawing blood as it went along.

Pain burned across Jonathan's arm as he drew his right-arm back and threw his fist against the man's face with a crack. As the man fell to the ground and Jonathan took a moment to shake off his pain, he got a good look at May's conflict as well as she drew back and slammed the solider with another blow. The man, not recoiling nearly as much as one would have imagined, threw his own jab back with surprising speed. His fist slammed against May's cheek and sent her recoiling in a bit of shock and pain.

A bit of worry for his instructer rushed through Jonathan as he watched May spit out a glob of blood and charged back into her fray with a growl. Jonathan moved to help, but he was quickly halted as an explosion of pain tore through his shoulder. He let out a yell of absolute pain and instinctually threw back his elbow, slamming into flesh with a satisfying (at least for him) crack. As the amnesiac stumbled out of the grasp of the soldier, his hand instantly went to his right shoulder. To his shock and horror, his hand impacted against the sleek metal of a blade. He had been stabbed.

A wave of nausea fluctuated through him, coldening his blood and all the contents of his stomach as he instinctually reached to grab the hilt of the blade, then stopped. He wasn't a doctor (he was pretty sure), but he was fairly certain that pulling out the blade wouldn't help.

And he was also sure he had much bigger problems as he turned back to face his opponent. He wasn't liking these odds at all. If they were having trouble against two of these soldiers, he could only imagine the hell of facing the entire force of soldiers that had come to capture them. And the gunshot that his opponent had let out probably didn't help much in the way of keeping quiet. All he knew was that they had to get out of the hotel. And fast.

As if on cue, electric shots rang out once more. Instantly, Jonathan's opponent completely seized up, his eyes rolling up to his head as he fell back, unconiousness overtaking him. Jonathan looked back just in time to see May's opponent fall as well. His eyes looked up to the head agent still carrying Amador, his smoking tranq-gun in his free hand.

"... And why did it take you so long to do that?" Jonathan asked between breaths.

"I needed time and arm-space to draw it," Coulson answered, shifting the unconcious form of Amador to block his hand that held the gun once more. He looked to Jonathan's shoulder, worry in his eyes. "We need to get you out of here and back to the ship. Now." He motioned with Amador's form to the staircase that stretched up into the night sky. "Staircase."

Without a moment's hesitation, the three of them made a break for the stairs, their footsteps echoing through the hall as they ran. Jonathan grimanced as every movement shifted the blade painfully in his skin. His entire shoulder was burning, but he knew he couldn't falter. The full force of Centipede was on it's way. And they weren't going to show any mercy.

They reached the staircase and quickly made their way to the roof of the hotel. Jonathan was pushed to the roof first by May, who followed as Coulson quickly trailed behind. The leader of the SHIELD team quickly holstered his weapon with his free hand and went to his communicator. "We're in position. Bring the Bus around and prep with medical. Jonathan is injured and Amador needs to be prepped for surgery." He listened for a moment. "Make it fast. We were not exactly stealthy in our escape." He lowered his hand and looked to Jonathan, worry ever-present. "Jonathan, are you-?"

"I'm still moving, Coulson," Jonathan replied with a pained laugh. "At least as well as I can."

"That doesn't stop the fact that you're still losing blood," May argued as she looked to his wound.

"Your reassuring nature is so comforting, May." Jonathan drawled out with absolute sarcasm.

Before May could reply (in her signature angry way), a string of gunfire screamed through the air, chipping the stone at the SHIELD team's feet. Jonathan, without so much as a moment of shock, felt his body surge and jump to cover behind a large air vent, ignoring the screaming pain emenating through his shoulder.

May quickly sought cover on the flanking air vent to provide a defense against any ascending soldiers, while Coulson took cover behind the furthest vent with Amador to keep her out of harm's way. As Jonathan drew his pistol and prepared for the gunfight at hand, a voice at the end of the stairs took every ounce of his attention away.

"Jonathan, you're making this harder than it has to be."

Every ounce of air Jonathan had once held in his lungs instantly left. He felt his skin freeze to his bones and his blood heat at the same time as any train of thought he once had completely derailed. His grip painfully tightened against the hold of the gun, almost as if his instinct was afraid his gun would leave in an instant. For the first time for as long as he can remember (which wasn't long), he could honestly say with complete and utter sincerity and truth.

He recognized that voice.

"You've already sent us across the world and cost us more resources then you could possibly imagine. You've done enough damage. It's time to stop this."

He felt May's gaze lock on his with as much of a sense of questioning and wonderment as Coulson. Both agents of SHIELD wondered as Jonathan began to feel his head pulse painfully as thousands of thoughts rushed through every crevice he held in his mind. His shoulder pain was utterly and completely ignored as he felt his attention drive directly to the voice.

"Let's end this before things get out of hand, Jonathan. I heard you don't remember a thing, not since New York. I can fill in the gaps for you, Jonathan. I can answer every question you have rolling around in your head. From what you remember to what you don't. We can show you exactly who you were before all this. All you have to do is surrender."

The voice and the offer seemed to echo around the amnesiac. Seemingly every muscle he had tightened immensely at this. He knew exactly who Jonathan was. He held every answer that Jonathan had sought, every piece of his shambled life he had been trying so hard to repair. And every instinct the amnesiac held told him to take the offer and end the gap that was his life. But, at the same time, so many points stood prominent in his mind. Points that Coulson helped personify in the moment.

"Jonathan, you can't trust them. Last time I checked, a trustworthy organization didn't need to force people to help them by planting explosives in their head!" He looked to the asset of SHIELD. "You don't know what they'll do with you if you go back to them, Jonathan. Based on what they've done so far, I don't imagine they have the best intentions when it comes to you. Look at what they did to Peterson. To Amador. They're associating with people like Quinn and his millionare diabolical allies! There is no ending that ends well if you go with them. And that's not what I want for you! I brought you on this team because you helped us save hundreds of lives, including the teams. I believe in you, Jonathan. Believe in me when I say that Centipede only helps themselves and their own agenda."

"Centipede needs you back now more then ever, Jonathan." The voice continued to call out from the staircase. "The Doctor has plans that can't be delayed any longer. Everything we do or have done is in pursuit of humanity itself. I know you can't see it now, but every action we have taken was a necessary evil to the greater good. I've worked alongside you for many years, Jonathan. I can help you get back to what you once were."

Suddenly, Jonathan's surging mind pain briefly intensified before his thoughts completely and utterly cleared. Everything solidified and time seemed to slow as thoughts began to flood his mind. Training in the forest, consulting the squad of Centipede trainees, blurry blueprints detailing hundreds of possible plans across hundreds of different cities. All with one similar man at Jonathan's side the entire time. The name stood so prominent in Jonathan's mind now, almost as if it was engraved and burned in the center of his mental sight.

 _Gros._ _Captain Gros. The Elite._

The amnesiac felt every hair stand on edge in an instant, an almost automatic response to the name. He certainly didn't feel right when it came to the mention of that name.

"Jonathan, we have the entire hotel surrounded and a group of our best on the way. Make this easier on everyone and surrender."

Jonathan looked to Coulson and May, who looked to him expectantly and worryingly, waiting to see the amnesiac's decision on the matter itself. And, for a moment, Jonathan felt torn. Every molecule in his body was telling him to get up and move down the stairs. There, he would find answers to all of his questions. Every piece of the puzzle he was grasping for ever since he woke up in the burning building. Gros knew a great deal about Centipede and his place in it, that he could be assured of. He could finally end this nightmare that was his void of memories.

But his mind told a different argument. After everything he had seen involving Centipede, he knew Coulson wasn't wrong. They dealt in practices with people like Quinn. They entrapped people in their game using technology. Whatever goal they were striving towards was, in their minds, enough to justify destruction, corruption and holding people hostage for their gains. Everything he had seen and done so far during his time with the SHIELD team continued, in his mind, to show that the team fought for the ideals that held the world together. In all honestly, being with Coulson's team let him feel they were doing what's right. But, it would take more time to find his memories and past with SHIELD as opposed to Centipede, who could provide it all with a simple sentence.

"This is your last chance, Jonathan. Surrender and you can return back to your old life. Refuse, and I can't promise you and the SHIELD agents will walk away from this alive."

It was a heavy decision for Jonathan on deciding on doing what was effective and doing what was right. His void or his humanity. His suffering or others suffering. His fists clenched as his thoughts weighed heavy on his mind, brief intervels of indecision shooting across the fluctuating gaps of amnesia in his mind. But, as his eyes moved to the stars above them and a distant glow in the night sky and to the SHIELD agents who had promised their help for his, he felt his expression solidify from the questioning one he once wore to one of planning and calm.

He knew what he had decided.

* * *

For the milita of Centipede, the outcome of the situation seemed decided already. Every exit had been covered, every hall paced by the best of their warriors, their eyes scanning for any kind of disturbance in the hotel. Commander Gros had methodically planned the assault to the tiniest detail. He knew the importance of Jonathan to Centipede as a whole and would not risk his escape again.

They had isolated Jonathan and the SHIELD agents that held him to the rooftop of the hotel and Commander Gros was only waiting for the Centipede forces that had been routed to the left side of the hotel to mass back to his position before charging and securing both the rooftop and Jonathan. But, while Gros's forces had prepared for nearly everything, they had not planned for all that SHIELD had.

As the Centipede forces rallied behind Gros and Gros, now through with talking, prepared to voice the command to advance, a blast of sound from the top of the stairwell drowned out their thoughts. The explosion of sound reminded Gros of the roar of jet engines as they flared for a brief minute, accomponied by a shining light from the top of the stairwell.

The commander for the Centipede force shielded his eyes against the light for a brief moment before anger and panic began to flare as he came to realization to exactly what SHIELD was doing.

"No! NO! Advance now! Open fire on the ship! NOW!" He yelled and commanded over the noise. His armed soldiers streamed forward and to the rooftop, but they were too late. Their guns chattered as tracer lines sparked and panged against the rapidly retreating hull of the plane, but it did nothing to slow or damage the plane as it sped through the night, dissapearing into the clouds above.

Commander Gros, glare present and evident as he looked after the plane, raised his communicator up. "This is Gros," He growled. "We secured the hotel, but SHIELD has successfully retreated with Jonathan. He willingly left with them and refused offers to return back to the fold. It's confirmed. A War-dog has gone rouge. Repeat: A War-dog has gone rouge." With that, the commander lowered his communicator and clenched his fists. "You made the wrong decision, old friend." He all but spit out. "And we are going to make sure you know of that fact."

 **Akela Amador**

The cold darkness began to clear as Amador slowly felt herself awake. The first thing she took notice of as she regained her bearings was the soft bed she was laying back first on and the repititous pattern of hexagons that stretched across the ceiling in front of her. It was a start to her as, at first, she didn't know what the hell she was doing there. What kind of test or mission had Centipede sent her on now? But that thought process was quickly shattered when an all-to-familier voice echoed through the room and towards her.

"Hello, Akela." Couslon said from his seat at the side of her bed. "You're safe now."

Akela jumped and sat up in shock at both the suddeness of the voice and the scared realization of recognizing who the voice belonged to and remembering what had happened the night before. She kept her eyes locked forward and away from her former instructor and to the wall in front of her, fear coursing through her form as she waited for the immenint explosion that would end her life. Not only had she failed to capture Jonathan or kill Agent May, she was also captured by SHIELD and confined to a cell. There was no way that they wouldn't see this as an excuse to end her life there and then.

As she took deep breaths to try to shake the exhaustion and blood rush she felt by rising so suddenly, Coulson spoke once more.

"Give it a minute," He reassured to her. "I hit you with a powerful Dendrotoxin."

Amador shook her head once more, this time out of attempt to shave out of her exhaustion and, this time, out of confusion. "There's a kill switch in my eye," She said. "Why hasn't my handler blown it yet?"

"As far as your handler knows," Coulson answered. "You fought Agent May and Jonathan, you all went down, then you got up and left the building to complete your mission."

A perfect mix of disbelief, confusion and surprise rushed through the former agent at Coulson's words. "How?" She asked, voicing the one question echoing her thoughts.

"We hijacked your feed," Came the agent's quick response. "One of my agents is wearing a set of glasses mimicking your implant. Right now, it's transmitting his point of view as if it was yours. It even has backscatter imaging."

"I get messages from my handler." Amador replied, a spark of fear bouncing in her chest once more.

"We're receiving those as well," The head agent replied without missing a beat. "My agent's on his way to the Todorov building, completing your mission while we disable the fail-safe in your eye." Amador heard a slight creak from Coulson's chair as he leaned towards her. "I promise. They can't see you. You're okay, Akela."

Akela froze in place at those words. She... she couldn't be. After so long under their control, she couldn't... could she? After so long...

"Akela," Coulson said softly. "Look at me."

The former protege kept her eyes locked to wall in front of her for a brief moment, then slowly turned to face her former instructer. Coulson met her eyes, his expression one of sympathy, sadness and even relief. Coulson's expression held no questioning, no anger, no dissapointment. Just happiness towards his protege.

"How long have they been monitoring you?" Coulson gently asked.

Amador actually felt a lump grow in her throat as the question spearheaded her realization. "Years." She replied sadly.

Coulson gave her a sympathetic smile as he continued to look on to her as she looked back in sadness and steadfast questioning. This... is not what she was expecting from Coulson.

"May... and Jonathan," Amador began to ask. "Are they...?"

"They're fine." Coulson quickly assured. "And are on the plane right now."

Amador let out a sigh of relief. It gave her reassurance to know that she wasn't responsible for the capture of Coulson's team. God knows she already had enough blood to her name. She looked to Coulson. "Why are you doing this, Coulson?"

"I need to know why a Prox Card is worth thirty million-" Coulson began before Amador cut him off.

"No." She said. "Why are you doing _this_? Why are you helping me? Where's the 'I told you so?'"

The agent looked to her for a moment before sighing. "That's not me anymore," He replied. "I'm just glad you're alive."

At his words, she felt a surge of guilt fluctuate through her once more and found herself unable to meet Coulson's eyes. The old scars she held and bottled up were breaking open once more for the former agent. And it was painful.

"Vanchat would never have caught us if I had just done my job," She said sadly, the words seemingly tearing at her throat as they left her mouth. "I should have listened to you. Trusted my team the way you insisted." She felt her voice begin to break. "If I had... they might still be alive."

She heard Coulson's chair screech slightly and she turned to see Coulson stepping forward, water bottle in hand and outstretched to her. She briefly smiled as she swiveled forward and took the bottle with a nod of thanks.

"How did you manage to escape?" Coulson asked as he took his seat once more.

"I didn't." Amador replied as she uncapped the bottle and took a drink. "Got caught in the crossfire, went down. Woke up in some half-assed triage bay, blind in this eye." She pointed to her right eye. "Spent the next four years alone in a cage at the bottom of a copper mine."

"We looked for you," Coulson said in sadness. "Heard rumors you'd been taken to Shanxi Providence."

"When a team finally came, I thought it was SHIELD at first. But..."

"Who were they?" Coulson questioned.

Amador looked to him, no small amount of anger in her voice as she recounted events. "They called themselves Centipede, 'Front-Line of Human Evolution'. A man they called 'Superior'. He promised to help me return to strength and assist in making the world a better place, even return to SHIELD. I agreed, to get out of that hellhole. They took me to a clinic. I had multiple surgeries." She held a ghost of a smile. "Until one day, I could see out of both eyes again. I was so grateful," Her smile dropped. "Until I realized what they had done."

"Somebody was watching." Coulson filled in.

"My every move. I had no idea until they sent the first message. Then the assignments started. Mostly it was 'Steal this', 'Follow him', 'Break into there'. I just tried to ignore them. But when I did, I'd get this pain, like an electric migraine."

"The fail-safe." Coulson said.

Amador nodded. "Polite way of putting it." She looked down. "Now when I think about about my years in the cage... I miss it. I wish I could go back, be alone, sleep in peace." She took another swig of water to try to dull the fire of pain and sadness weighing heavy on her chest. And it seems Coulson was not oblivious to her pain as he leaned towards her, sympathy for his protege evident.

"I know you're tired," The agent said to her. "But I need your help."

Amador looked to him. "If you want information on the Prox Card or Jonathan, I can't help much..."

"Information sent to you on Jonathan we have already," Coulson replied. "But the Prox Card... You can't go on missions without intel."

Amador looked to her former teacher, her lips pursed. "It comes in pieces, always has. A name, an address."

 **Simmons**

 _"It would suck to live like this,"_ Skye's voice flared over the Bus's communication systems. _"Wondering if someone's watching."_

"No quiet moments, no moments to yourself," Jonathan added as he kept his attention locked to the lab's screens in front of them that showcased both Ward's feed and the direct feed to the holding cell on the Bus. "Have to live your entire life with a voice in your head you couldn't ignore is just pure night-" He stopped short as he let out a slight hiss of pain and his left hand instinctually shot to his shoulder, but stopped short of making contact with Simmon's needle as he caught himself.

"Sorry," Simmons apologized again as Jonathan lowered his arm. "I know this isn't comfortable, Jonathan. But it's necessary, especially to treat a knife wound embedded that deep in your shoulder." She threaded another stitch through his open wound, leaving only two spins till the wound was entirely sealed. "It's a very good thing that stitches are all you're going to need for now. Just a little deeper and it would have hit the subclavian artery, which would have been lethal. Internal bleeding, loss of your arm, infection coursing through your arm and rendering it useless as a result of-"

"Simmons," Jonathan said through another wince of pain. "Bedside manner."

Simmons took in Jonathan's words for a moment, then sighed. "Sorry," She said as she turned her attention back to the stitches. "I can't help but ramble sometimes. It's a unintentinal concentration method of mine. Keeps my train of thought focused at the task at hand."

"I get it," The amnesiac replied with a smile. "Just would appreciate if the topic of conversation wasn't about all the ways my arm could have fallen off."

"Of course," Simmons replied with a nervous laugh as she began to loop the last stitch. "Well, I'm happy to say that you will have no fear of that possibility now. You got out of the field in just enough time to remove the knife without much trouble. Only situation we had was that, for a brief moment, we were having trouble removing the knife. It was quite stuck in there, according to Fitz."

"Oh, do not remind me," Fitz piped up from behind an examination table as he quickly cleared it off. He shuddered. "It definitely is not a memory I would like to keep with me, thank you very much."

Jonathan shoulders shook as he slightly chuckled. "Regardless, thanks for helping me out. I owe one to both of you."

"More like two for all the blood and stainless steel I could have happily lived the rest of my life without seeing." Fitz replied humerously, which drew slight laughs from both Jonathan and Simmons before the communicator crackled again.

" _Testing backscatter."_ Ward reported to the Bus.

Simmons found her gaze moving to Ward's feed just in time to see the image shift into backscatter. And, to her (And Fitz's, judging by his own relieved smile), it was a wave of relief across every inch of her body. Their worst fear was the backscatter system would either severely malfunction, making it obvious to Amador's handler that it was a fake, or that it would have detonated, which would probably have not fared well for Ward.

Luckily, their double and triple checks fueled by their paranoia seemed to pay off, as the backscatter looked identical to the one Amador seemed to use. Fitz and Simmons looked to each other with a mix of relief and pure excitement. Their work had succeeded. Now, it was up to Skye and Ward.

" _Good to go."_ Skye reported through the communicator.

" _Remember I can't look at you, much less help you."_ Ward said to Skye, keeping his gaze forward to the building ahead, according to the feed.

 _"Got it,"_ Simmons heard Skye reply. _"Don't count on you for help."_

With that, Ward's feed moved from the interior of the car and towards the building itself. The feed remained clear of orders as he made his way through a group of people and towards the building itself. Simmons looked to the screen for a little longer, looking for any sign of incoming orders before deciding they would have to wait a little longer and turned her attention back to Jonathan's wound.

"Okay, Jonathan," Simmons said as she clipped the last stitch. "I've closed up the wound and disinfected it the best I could. It should take a few weeks to heal, but in the meantime," She gave a reassuring smile to Jonathan as she placed down a large white wrap around his shoulder to catch the bleeding. "Try not to do anything too strenious to your arm."

Jonathan smirked as he stood and began putting his shirt back on. "Try to avoid the strenious? Here while part of a SHIELD team that was made to combat the most dangerous missions imaginable?"

Simmons smiled. "Quite a tall order for you, I realize. Still, I reccomend taking it as easy as you can. Certainly wouldn't be any help to a situation if your stitches tear and the bleeding begins again."

"You're not wrong about that," Jonathan replied. "Well, I'll take your advice, Simmons. I'll try to take as much energy off this arm as I can."

"Fantastic!" Simmons exclaimed as she quickly put away her medical supplies. "Now that that's done, we can begin to concentrate... or contemplate what we're about to do."

Jonathan looked to the two scientists as he moved his arm to get the blood flowing once more, sympathy and worry evident in his expression. "Coulson wouldn't ask you guys to do this if he didn't have faith in your abilities. You both have this in the bag."

"Well," Fitz said as he continually cleared the table. "There is the factor that nethier Simmons or I have any kind of experience in optic surgery in any way whatsoever and that we may very well irreperably damage her nerves during surgery..."

"Or we may very well detonate the device since we don't quite know the layout," Simmons added. "Killing her and possibly killing us as well."

"Guys," Jonathan pleaded as he held up his hands. "Happy thoughts. You are two of the smartest and the best SHIELD has to offer. You've put all of your studies into the human body and engineering itself. This situation was tailored specifically to you guys. There is no way you guys won't know exactly how to handle the situation."

Both Fitz and Simmons looked to the amnesiac in happiness, a bit of a renewed sense of faith in their work. Simmons knew she could speak for Fitz as well when she said that, though they were a bit suspicious of the amnesiac, as much of the team was at first, they had come to greatly appreciate Jonathan and his words towards them. He seemed to genuinely sympathetic towards the two researchers as they attempted to navigate their way in the team and through the missions. And for that, they were beyond thankful for his presence and his friendship. Regardless of the actions he had taken the night before, they were just happy he had returned to the plane in once piece.

"Thank you for your confidence, Jonathan." Simmons replied with a genuine nod and smile.

"Yes, thank you, Jonathan," Fitz added on with a smile of his own before turning back to the cleared bed in front of him. "We're going to need that boost for the near future, that's for sure."

"On that, I could not agree more," Simmons said as she reached up to her communicator and activated it. "Sir, we're ready down here."

"Trust me," Jonathan said as he looked to the table, his lips pursed. "You two are not the only ones in a jumble of nerves right now. You can be sure of that."

 **Ward**

 _"Fitz, Simmons and Jonathan are prepped for surgery,"_ Skye reported as Ward made his way through the doors and past a stream of people. _"Should be any minute now."_

Ward did not respond to the hacker as he continued into the building and to the back of a line that stretched forward towards a checkpoint, keeping his concentration (and eyesight) forward and away from any part of his body. He kept every thought he had on the mission at hand and at the lenses of his glasses to await more orders from Amador's handlers. And, even with all of his concentration focused onto one thing, he still was able to confirm the one thing prominent in his mind.

He didn't need her help, just like he didn't need any help in the countless missions he had run and completed before he had joined Coulson's team. He had always proved most effective on his own and away from any kind of support. The feel that he should be running these ops alone only intensified upon hearing that both Jonathan and Agent May both disobeyed orders and went after Amador on their own.

They had run into risks, but they got the job done. Now, with that fresh in the team's mind, Ward hoped that it would prove enough for Coulson to allow him, an agent well known for running single missions with few mistakes, to start running missions on his own and away from the nagging in his ear.

 _"Hey,"_ Skye reported, breaking Ward from his thoughts as he began to near the security checkpoint. _"Remember, you have man hands, so don't look when you scan the card."_

He let loose a slight sigh as he impulsively looked farther away from his hands. "I know." He muttered as he nodded to the guard to the left of the checkpoint before swiping his card in the scanner.

The prevelent red light of the machine stood for a few nerve-wracking seconds before finally switching to green with an audible beep. The guard waved him through and the agent of SHIELD stepped forward into the lobby and towards the next step of his mission.

 **Jonathan**

"Ward's on-site, so we don't have much time."

"... To remove her eyeball." Fitz replied to Coulson in a tone that showed no small amount of concern.

"Yeah, ocular surgery is not really my field of expertise." Simmons added, her expression twisted into one of distress.

"I can't say it's really any of ours." Jonathan piped up from behind to research duo. And he knew for sure he wasn't wrong about that fact in his mind. He knew the machinery and technology of Centipede, that much his memories told him. But his shattered memories certainly weren't showing any prevelence towards surgery of any kind, least of all eye.

"We've got no other choice." Coulson replied. "There's a kill switch inside Akela. Could be a poison, could be an explosive. Ethier way, if Ward's caught, they'll kill her instantly." He looked to all of them. "Jonathan, you know more about Centipede tech than we could ever hope to imagine. Fitz/Simmons, you are two are some of the most adept people when it comes to dealing with hybrid technology forced inside a person. I trust in all of you. Get it done." With that, Coulson turned and began to move out of the lab.

"Where are you going, sir?" Fitz asked.

"To find out who's finger is on the trigger." Coulson called back.

As Fitz and Simmons nervously nodded to each other and him before moving to the table to prepare for the procedure, Jonathan quickly followed the head agent outside the lab. "Agent Coulson, wait." The agent stopped just short of ascending the steps and looked to the amnesiac, questioning in his expression.

Jonathan sighed. "About the incident last night, Coulson. I was just..."

"What happened last night is definitely an issue that needs to be discussed, Jonathan," Coulson quickly said. "But I think it would be an issue better discussed when a life isn't on the line. Right now, let's focus on Amador."

Jonathan stood for a moment, then nodded with a slight smile. "Sounds like a plan, Coulson." As the senior agent nodded back and continued his ascent up the steps, Jonathan turned and quickly made his way back to the lab. He felt a slight pang of nervousness, frustration and a bit of relief before he returned to the lab at the fact that Coulson had put aside their discussion at the moment. He wanted to go into this with Coulson knowing that he did not mean any harm to the mission or the team when he went off with May the night before. If anything, he wanted to show that he had gone into that hotel with an idea of greatly helping and speeding along the investigation into Centipede itself. He knew he would be on the burner for breaking a lot of SHIELD's rules, but his mind had actively rooted that, as long as the ends justified the means, it would be worth it. But, while his mind said it was worth it, his sense was telling him he went about it all wrong.

But, whatever other thoughts the amnesiac had on his mind were actively pushed aside upon his nerves returning (more like slamming) to him once more as he once again entered the lab. Yeah, the sounds of Fitz and Simmons feverishly setting up and programming their equipment droned in his ears and the feel of his thoughts grasping any shooting spark of thought as he fully began to take in what he was being asked to do was a rush of nervousness on it's own. But all of that was a light headache compared to when Akela Amador entered the lab.

Her gaze slowly shifted from Fitz to Simmons and to Jonathan, her eyes piercing and almost examining every aspect of them. Her eyes especially lingered on Jonathan, which gave him a rush of goosebumps. His mind flashed back to their fight at the hotel, the speed and precision she radiated as she almost effortlessly combated both May and himself speeding his heartbeat to beyond normal. He couldn't remember any of his life before the burning building, but he was pretty confident he had not felt intimidation for a person like this before (though, the occurence last night was a very close second).

Amador kept her gaze on Jonathan for a few more moments before she turned to Simmons, who at this point had noticed the former agent and quickly made her way towards her, a friendly but slightly nervous smile across expression.

"Hello," Simmons greeted. "I'm Agent Simmons. This is Agent Fitz and... you're already familier with Agent Jonathan."

Jonathan awkwardly nodded to Amador, who, after a moment, returned the nod, as Fitz gave a nervous and quickened "Hello." to her.

"If you will lay down over here," Simmons said, motioning to the examination bed in the center of the lab. "We can get right to work in possibly saving your life."

Amador looked to Simmons and, for a few seconds, Jonathan was nervous that Amador would make a move against them in that moment. But, to everyone's relief, she graciously nodded to them and made her way to the table.

As the former Centipede warrior layed herself out across the table, her gaze fixed to the ceiling above, Jonathan shared a brief glance with Fitz/Simmons before they spread to the lab to ready their tools and monitors as Jonathan turned his own gaze to Amador's eye. He didn't know if he was religious before he lost his memories, but he found himself sending a mental prayer to whoever the hell would hear it: _Please, let this go as smooth as I hope. As smooth as we ALL hope._

 **Ward**

"... Approching Delta Three." Ward muttered in a tone so Skye could hear him but the crowd of people around him could not. He felt on edge as he pressed deeper into the hallway, his fists clenched in preperation for whatever may come at him.

The atmosphere of the building around him had certainly darkened in tone. There were very few visible windows as he continued to plunge deeper into the recesses of the structure, blocking out any feeling of escape or freedom. The people that walked beside him were dressed in darkened clothes and suits, making the agent feel a bit stand-outish as his suit seemed to be brighter than those around him.

But this did not beget nervousness or fear out of Agent Ward. Not at all.

Did it offer him some sense of carefulness and caution as he proceeded? Yes, but that was not out of norm for Ward. He had been in too many mission scenarios and even training scenarios to allow any kind of fear to overtake him by a hallway or lack of light. As such, the agent gave no such indication of fear as he continued on his way through the crowd, never faltering from his stride.

He passed by the security checkpoint in the center of the hall with a quick swipe of his card. He didn't make any eye contact with the guard as the green light flashed and he made his past the desk. He felt like he definitely didn't need to, especially in a scenario like this.

He soon entered a hall that had blurred windows to his left and a line of doorways to the right. The windows offered just enough illumination to the agent to see the guards stationed at a majority of the doors, all carefully examining certain faces of the few people that walked by. Ward kept his gaze forward, never meeting the eyes of any of the guards. He did not doubt his skills and felt there was no way he could give away the plan through his expression, but, as he did not know the skill level of these guards, better safe than sorry.

 _"Careful!"_ Skye's voice erupted through his communicator. _"Mirror!"_

Ward, after recovering from the sudden noise pushing him out of his concentration, looked out of the side of his eyes to the incoming mirror on one of the sides of the doorway, flanked by a guard with an automatic weapon. It was in such a position that anyone could have seen and one that he felt he would have seen without the warning.

"Don't need your help." He muttered as he looked away from the reflective surface feigning running his hand through his hair and continued down the stretching wall.

 **Coulson**

"Handler's definitely local." May said as she examined a map of Vancouver being broadcasted in the Planning Room.

Coulson quickly came to her side and examined the map, quickly noting the red colored circles on certain locations that detailed the possible broadcast points of their person of interest.

"Any idea where he's transmitting from?" Coulson asked as he continued to examine the map.

"Somewhere here." She replied, motioning to one of the lighter and broader red circles on the map. "Every time he sends a message, we get closer."

 _Then there's no time to waste,_ Coulson thought to himself as he moved away from the table and out of the room. "Keep me updated on comm three. I'm headed out now." As Coulson reached the exit and began to make his way to the hanger, May stopped him.

"I'll track him down if you want to stay here and oversee the op."

Coulson turned back to her, knowing she said this because she knew Coulson wanted to make sure Amador made it through the op. "Thank you," He replied slowly. "This one's mine." At that moment, his thoughts turned to what Jonathan had tried to discuss with him at the stairway. "And about earlier..."

"Go," May replied, her expression now as readless as Coulson's. "Find the guy."

Coulson looked to her for a moment before nodding to his longtime friend and making his way down the staircase and to the hanger below, his mind set on finding Amador's handler and at last ending the nightmare his former protege had been living.

 **Fitz**

Fitz had never been particulary good with gore... or needles. Besides the social skill aspect, it was one of the reasons he never really pursued a career as a doctor. He doubt patients would be very appreciative if their doctor passed out or vomited on them mid-surgery. His feelings towards gore have been present since he was a child and it was certainly no exception for today.

Which is why the young researcher had kept his gaze thoroughly on the monitors around and behind him and everywhere beside Simmons and Amador. He still needed to be in the room, as did Jonathan, to jump in the second the eye was extracted. But, since he had the option to look away during the surgery and still stay in the room, he was certainly not squandering it. And Jonathan wasn't ethier, as he also kept his position away from the operating table and away from Amador and Simmons, the latter of whom had already slapped on her black gloves and eyewear and moved to Amador.

"I may need your feedback during the operation," Simmons said with a sympathetic and worrying smile to her patient. "Which means I have to inject a local anesthetic into your eye rather than putting you under."

A few seconds of nerve-wracking silence set in the room before Amador replied. "Whatever's necessary." With that, she straightened her head and eyes to the ceiling and even appeared to relax.

Simmons shared a surprised and somewhat relieved look with Fitz and Jonathan before returning her gaze to Amador. "Right." She replied in no small amount of happiness as she turned on the light to the harness on her head. She nodded to both Fitz and Jonathan, who both turned on the lights on their harnesses as well. "Let's begin, then." She turned to the table at her side, picked up one of the bigger syringes (Why did it have always have to be the big ones?) and let out a nervous chuckle before swiveling the item towards Amador.

Fitz almost instinctually let out a slight groan and he began to tap his foot nervously as Simmons slowly began to lower the needle down. He didn't know how Simmons was able to handle it so well. He knew he would be shaking just having the needle in his hand like that, much less knowing that he would have to plunge the needle into the eye of a woman. But, as he looked on at his partner, he began to notice that Simmons WAS shaking and that her lowering of the needle was gradually until it stopped just short of Amador's eye.

Fitz and Jonathan made eye contact at the same time. They didn't blame her in the slightest. Fitz was SURE that he would be even worse in her role and, based on Jonathan's expression, he felt he would be less then perfect as well. But they all knew that they could not allow the Centipede machine to remain in Amador's eye, especially with one of their own active on the field and the danger to Amador ever present.

But, before Fitz, Jonathan or Simmons could decide their next move, Akela reached up and took hold of Simmon's trembling arm. Fitz and especially Jonathan almost instinctually took a step forward and towards the two, ready to stop her from escaping if she made a move. Simmons just looked on in nervous confusion as Amador made eye contact with the SHIELD researcher.

"... Let me." She said before she fearlessly and effortlessly lowered Simmon's arm and the needle into the side of her eye. Or at least Fitz assumed it was the side of her eye. He turned away the instant his partner's arm began lowering again, unwilling to see the pin point of metal pierce a human eye. Jonathan was right there with him, turning to face the wall with a hum of his own and his fists clenched.

As Fitz kept his thoughts to the ceiling and the equipment around him, he heard Simmons let out an audible nervous chuckle in what he could assume was shock and relief at the action that Amador had taken. And Fitz would be lying if he said he didn't feel a relief as well. A lot of relief, in fact.

 **Skye**

Skye's concentration and thought process was all locked throughly on the screen in front of her (which, she kind of already did on a daily basis, but she was pretty sure never to this level) as Ward continued to make his way through the building, taking a turn in the darkened hallway and towards what looked like a jumble of well lit windows.

The hacker felt her hands twitch nervously as Ward's feed turned to a mostly empty room with the exception of a single desk with a single guard, busying himself with paperwork peppered across the length of desk. Skye instinctually felt herself methodically scan the glass in front of Ward and the room itself, looking for any sign of reflection.

Ward may have said he didn't need her help, but that wouldn't stop her from trying. The self-proclaimed Lone Ranger of the group only had one set of eyes to his head. And one set could only get a person so far. She knew that all too well. So, as much as Ward had said it and as much as he wanted to believe, two set of eyes were better then one. And Skye wanted to make sure that Ward had all the advantages he could have, for the sake of both his health and the health of Jonathan and Fitz/Simmons back at the Bus.

She didn't make friends that often in her former line of work. And she would hate to lose the ones she had gained in her new line of work, especially friends like them.

But Skye's attention was snagged away from her thoughts by a sudden flare of white text across her screen. The text rested on the side of the security guard and it read, clear as day:

TARGET CONFIRMED, STAND BY...

"What do they mean, 'target'?" Skye asked as Ward ducked out of sight of the guard.

 _"It's never good,"_ Ward grimly replied. _"Especially for the target."_ He paused. _"Let's hope it's a knockout and not a kill."_

 _Kill?_ Skye thought to herself as Ward looked to the guard again. Guilt set in her heart as she looked to the guard who just seemed to be doing his job, maybe to support a family.

"You should get out of there." Skye said, hoping to get Ward out of there before he was forced to kill an innocent person.

 _"I've come this far,"_ Ward replied, looking to the guard once more. _"I'll finish it, whatever it takes."_

A few seconds passed as Ward and Skye waited for the words that would decide their next course of action. Then, to the complete shock and utter, utter, UTTER humor of Skye, the message appeared, clear as day:

SEDUCE HIM

Another second of silence fell on their comms as Skye sat wordlessly, mouth agape. Her communicator suddenly flared once more.

 _"Help."_ Ward pleaded, his voice dripping in shock.

It took every ounce of energy for Skye not to laugh out loud at the circumstances under Ward's sudden change of heart. "I'm sorry," She said mockingly. "Did you say 'help'? Because a minute ago, you said you didn't _need_ or _want_ my help."

 _"...That was before they asked me to go all Mata Hari on this guy."_ He audibly sighed. _"I'm just going to knock him out."_

"Ward, wait!" Skye said, stopping him at the doorway. "We may need him to get through the next door. Remember, it said seduce, not kill."

Ward hesitated once more before looking back at the guard. _"I... don't think I'm his type."_

"Let me see," Skye said as she zoomed in on the guard. "Cheap haircut, five o'clock shadow," She sighed. "Nope. Odds are you guys play for the same time." She made a face. "You're going to have to bromance him." She saw Ward's feed move around in exasperation. "Talk sports, vodka, the victorianov secret catalog! Be friendly, Agent Ward. Can you be friendly?"

Ward let out another sigh and, after a moment, moved back to the doorway and into the room.

"Please don't die." Skye pleaded as she watched the guard stand up to meet Ward.

The guard and Ward began to exchange words in Russian, which Skye looked on in confusion for a few moments before she quickly pulled up her Rising Tide programs and added a translator module to the feed. She wasn't about to sit there and guess at what direction the exchange was going.

"...ID?" The guard was saying (according to the module text) as Ward made a show of patting his pockets.

"How about the game last night?" Ward asked, shooting a smile to the guard.

"... Your ID?" The guard asked again.

Ward's feed moved slightly again as he moved to pat his pockets once more. "I think I left it at home." He took a step forward to the guard, who didn't change his expression in the slightest. "Had a wild night. Met these two Ukrainian girls." He chuckled, which the guard did not respond to. "Didn't sleep much. You know how it is, _da_?" The guard didn't even blink. _"Da?"_ The guard continued to glare at him, unmoving. " _Da?_... Guess not." He finally said in English.

The guard reached out to grab him but Ward was a step ahead. He quickly grabbed the man's arm, twisting it away from him as he slammed his other hand on the back of the man's neck. He slammed the guard into the desk multiple times, scattering the notes and supplies across the room before throwing the unconcious guard to the floor with such force, it probably ensured a knock out if there was any doubt in Skye's mind. Possibly alongside some serious brain damage.

 _Say what you want about Ward,_ Skye thought to herself as she watched Ward's feed turn to the door and move towards it. _He certainly makes sure there's no chance that the bad guys get up again._

The agent held up his ID card to the door scanner and, the second it clicked to green, Ward wasted no time in entering the room. What they saw next confused the hell out of Skye (and she was pretty sure it extended to Ward as well). The room was almost completely rounded by a chalkboard, which circled across the entire room. The board was sunken within the wall itself, giving the writings etched across the board a dark looming shadow against the glare of the light. The light of the room also bounced off the two desks that sat in the center of the room, both seating well-dressed men who clicked away at a typewriter. They shot a quick glance to Ward as he entered the room before turning back to their writings without a second thought.

The etchings seemed to be, at least to Skye, a bunch of equations and math gibberesh that were obviously more geared for a Friday night with Fitz/Simmons as opposed to a couple fleeting seconds of interest from her. Still, it definitely wasn't nothing if it was sitting in the middle of a facility THIS large and THIS guarded. Any hacker or thief, for that matter, could tell you the same.

"What now?" Skye asked as Ward's feed locked on the two seated men. "Are you supposed to grab one of these guys?"

Ward didn't reply. Instead, he walked forward and beside the chalk wall, following the line that stretched across the room with his gaze. The feed passed by every math equation and math sign with no response. Then, Ward's feed stilled.

He was looking across the room, to another half of the chalkboard that held... what Skye guessed was an equation of something, but she had certainly never seen it before. Or could figure out what the hell it was for that matter.

It looked to be lines with large dark circles and random white lines peppered across the length of "equation" itself. And there was far more than one crossing the board. Multiple small and large drawings of the same equation stretched across the board, making something that looked like an ominous art piece. But that wasn't even the weirdest part.

To the right of this calvacade of weird was a pace of clear that held what looked like the strangest language Skye had ever seen. And she had seen a lot, given how many languages she had to learn to hack across countries. It resembled Chinese letters, though they stretched in ways that Skye couldn't recognize. All of it was out of order of a proper sentence and lined down in a way that made no sense. It looked completely alien to both the Hacker and the Agent. But, apparently, not Amador's handler.

Ward's feed completely froze and resumed, almost as if an image was taken. Then, a flare of white text scrolled across the screen once more: MISSION COMPLETE. GOOD LUCK.

Skye felt that, somehow, a cold white text coming from a handler with his thumb on a kill switch ensuring their puppet good luck wouldn't exactly assist in confidence. Not if they were in the center of a guarded facility like Ward was and DEFINITELY NOT if they saw the same readings of alarm signal buildup her monitors were telling her about.

They might not have needed the luck given to them by a Centipede Handler, but the hacker knew they would need as much luck as they could be given, especially in the next few minutes.

Skye kept a small eye on the readings of the prepping alarm signals as she kept the majority of her concentration on Ward as he quickly made his way out of the room and to the guard's room. He was just about to fully leave when he came to a stop beside the guard's desk, his attention captured to the flashing red of the monitor. It was on a visible ten-second countdown and making it's way quickly down. And it didn't have any visible off or cancel switch in sight

Ward quickly rushed to the desk as Skye's mind began to race. Possible programs and computer tactics ran through her head, ways that she could use to halt the countdown or shut down the entire facility's system as her hands began to race across her keyboard, trying to see how effectively she could take down the firewall.

 _"Figured out what I needed the guard for,"_ Ward said, motioning to the monitor where he had pulled up a small bar with several free typing spaces. _"His password."_

Skye let loose a breath through her teeth as she continued to type and test. "Maybe I can talk you through a hack," She suggested. "Give me a minute."

But, only moments after her fingers hit her keyboard once more, a blaring alarm flowed from the speakers of her laptop. The monitor had hit zero and the room was now filled with sound and the red flashes of alarm.

 _"No more minutes."_ Ward said as he quickly pushed away from the desk and grabbed the pistol from the knocked out guard. _"Meet me on the south side of the building, ASAP."_

"Gotcha," Skye said as she slammed her laptop shut, opened the side door of the car and quickly hopped out, her hands grappling for any of her tech she left behind. "Which way is south?" She wondered to herself as she gathered the last of her supplies and made her way to the driver's seat.

 **Akela Amador**

Pain was nothing new to Akela. She had experienced it during her missions with SHIELD. She had experienced it when she was imprisoned and she experienced it during and after Centipede forced their control into her head. So, as she laid on the table, her gaze set to the ceiling above as Agent Simmons precisely moved in and around her socket, her tools chipping away at fresh and scabbed skin to reveal the inner-workings of the Centipede eye, the spikes of pain that rolled through her head were now so much a part of her past and present that they may as well have been tolerable old friends.

The sounds of the tools moving through flesh and blood seemed to echo through the lab as Agent Simmons continued her nervous reassuring smiles to the former SHIELD agent as she kept her focus on Amador's eye.

"Please tell me it's out already." Agent Fitz said from the side, a bit of strain in his voice and audibly a few steps away from the table.

"Or at least loosened." Jonathan added, his voice also a distance away from the table.

"It's... mostly out." Simmons replied, which earned groans from both Jonathan and Fitz and a spark of wonder and worry from Amador.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." Simmons replied (a little too quickly for Amador's comfort) as she grabbed a large medical pair of tweezers and reached into Amador's socket once more. There was another spike of pain through the former agent as the metal instrument scratched against her bleeding socket once more. There was another rigid shock of pain before it all stopped. "But Doctor Fitzy and Johnny needs to step in now," She slowly and precisely pulled out of the surgical area, eyeball now clenched tightly in her tweezers. "This is more their area of expertise, not mine." She looked up to them nervously. "Guys."

"Yeah, I'm not sure 'expertise' is the right word," Amador heard Jonathan mutter nervously under his breath as he went to Simmon's side of the table alongside Fitz. "More like 'very vauge knowledge'."

 _Apparantly a lot more knowledge than you may know,_ Amador thought to herself. _A least according to Centipede._

She watched with her remaining eye as Agent Fitz slowly took the tweezers away from Simmons and slowly pulled them up, revealing a series of blood streaked wires that were connected directly behind the front pupil. Simmons and Jonathan watched in obvious worry and some disgust as Fitz very slightly rotated the eye, revealing a closer look to the wires connecting to the machine.

Fitz slowly exhaled as he shakily steadied the explosive. "All right, then." He said. "Most likely, the power source and kill switch are located within the eye itself. So, how to disconnect it without triggering the kill switch?" He paused as he steadily angled it. "Jonathan, are you remembering anything now that you can see the mechanism?"

"...I'm wishing I did, Fitz," Jonathan replied as he circled the researcher, his arms arced around his neck in nervousness. "But... I'm not remembering anything right now."

"... What?" Fitz asked nervously, his hands shaking slightly as he adjusted the eye once more.

"Nothing's coming to me." Jonathan stressed, his focus centered solely and nervously on the eye itself.

"Stress is the enemy of thought, Jonathan," Simmons said to the amnesiac, a slight shake to her voice as she carefully navigated past Fitz. "Clear your head of all thoughts and concentrate. Your mind has to be grasping for any kind of thought in your condition. If you focus onto one too many because of stress, it may not allow you to clearly access whatever memories you may have."

"It's very difficult not to be stressed in this kind of scenario, Simmons." Jonathan replied. But regardless, Amador could see Jonathan close his eyes and clench his fists, his breathing steadying as he pursed his lips.

"No rush, really," Fitz said as he held the eye steady. "But I'd much prefer we get this done very, very soon."

Amador looked on, her own pang of fear coursing through her. She didn't care if minutes or hours had passed since she laid on the table. She already felt she had been here too long and she felt on edge that something was about to go wrong. Amador had every one of her instincts telling her to just rip the eye out already and get as far away as possible. But, after everything Coulson had done for her, after everything his team had done for her... if she couldn't trust them to save her, she didn't know who she could trust.

Jonathan's body visibly tensed and tightened for a moment before his eyes opened once more. "I can't..." He let out a sudden gasp and it almost seemed like his pupils dialated at the sight of the eye. "Extensial model 34-K. Connected to the subject by enhanced wire connections that connect to the back of the skull. Explosive deterrent put in place in case subject retaliates. Kept in place by the S and G connections that once severed could offer..." Jonathan took a careful step forward. "I know this. I know this."

He carefully reached out his hands. "Fitz, keep steady and keep the wires exposed. Simmons, can you...?" He motioned to the darkened wires, which prompted a quick nod of understanding to Simmons and a shift of a light to Amador's open socket.

It was a shocking shift for Amador when it came to how she interperted Jonathan. When she was fighting him, she had got a very unsure vibe from him, almost as if he was afraid of the techniques that he was throwing against her. That same nervousness was apparant to her when he hesitated during the start of the surgery and even a few minutes ago. Now, he seemed to flow smoothly with the operation, his eyes rimmed with concentration and understanding, his arms moving with precise movements, almost as if he had been around this kind of tech his entire life.

She was never entirely sure why Centipede wanted him so badly. But now, watching him move around their tech with an ease about him, she could definitely see one of the reasons Centipede wanted him out of SHIELD's hands and back in theirs. He knew more about their tech then he realized. And it made Amador begin to wonder the full extent of what Jonathan knew, especially against Centipede itself.

For the amount of forces the shadow organization was sending to hunt him, she knew that he had to know something important. And she hoped she would live long enough to help SHIELD find out who he was, before Centipede brought him back into the fold with SHIELD experience in hand.

 **Jonathan**

Out of every moment Jonathan had had when it came to his faltering memories, he had to say, he had NEVER felt more comfortable and at home then when he got this new wave of memories. Before, every memory he had was a slam of mental pain and surge of cold feeling before waking up in complete sweat on the ground. It wasn't a pleasent experience on any kind of level for him.

But, while he was trying to find his single concentrative thought in the mass of surging blankness and the occasional pain that was his mind, he felt a new kind of surge as he concentrated on the look of the eye device inside of Amador. One of familierty, skill and understanding, almost as if he had done it thousands of times before. Almost as if it was the only safe thought he had left.

And the moment he opened his eyes again and looked back at the Centipede device, it was as if he was seeing it for the thousandth time. Every gear made sense. Every pulse of electricity had a purpose. Every wire connected the machine was a flood to fuel the dam of the machine. It was a thought process that flowed so fast through his mind, it both excited and terrified him on so many levels.

"We need to sever the recoil system." He felt himself say suddenly, grabbing the full attention of Fitz/Simmons once more. "It's designed so that if the main system of the eye is removed, the eye itself will dentonate and send an electrical recoil of energy instantly to Amador's head, which would kill her. We need to get rid of the system and fast."

"Okay!" Simmons agreed excitedly. "How do we go about doing that?"

"See the red cord connecting to the eye right here?" Jonathan asked, motioning to one of the wires digging into the flesh of Amador's socket. "If we sever that, it'll be cut off from Amador. The system mainly operates through the funneling of the energy back to Amador's eyes, bringing constant pain and the thought of 'do what they say or they kill me'."

"Cut the wire," Simmons started before Jonathan could continue. "We pick the recoil system from it's target. I've got it." Before Jonathan knew it, Simmons was at her medical table, grabbing at her tools and quickly making her way to the wire connection.

"What's next?" Fitz asked, precariously rotating the eye once more to adjust to Simmons tampering with the wire.

"Fitz, as much as I remember this device, I don't have a solid idea of which of the cords disconnect the system directly from Akela's eye without the explosion because the connection wires are changable. None of them have the same shut down wire." He turned fully to Fitz, who was looking to him out of the corner of his eye in curiosity. "You can probably figure the direct disconnection wire faster than I ever could." Jonathan turned to the instruments that Simmons had brought out and picked up a medium sized medical knife. "I'll disconnect some of the direct sensors from the eye to allow a delay if the signal is sent. It'll probably just delay the signal for a moment, but it's better to have some distraction than none at all."

"I... can fully agree to that." Fitz replied as he slowly turned the eye to the main wires connecting to it. His eyes started to quickly travel up and down the connection systems as he quickly examined every wire presented to him.

Jonathan didn't hesitate as he cautiously pressed the knife into the back of the fake eye, digging into the hide as he started to hit the wires connecting the eye to it's reciever. It almost came as second nature to him as he methodically pressed against the smaller systems of the machine, pressing against the components until they began to loosen or spark against the blade, his hand straining slightly as he simotaniously pressed and pulled his strength.

He couldn't risk to press against the machinery too hard. If they were too damaged, it would have caused a system failure and destruction, which would not have been good for them. He also couldn't press too lightly against the machinery. So he was held at this strenuous game of properly distributing his strength against the system to properly and carefully dull it's wire connecting to the receivor.

As he carefully continued to press the blade against the machinery, he heard Simmons let out a relieved sigh. "Recoil wire disconnected." She said as she took a careful step back.

"Great job, Simmons." Jonathan said to her in sinceriety as he continued his own battle against the machinery. "Fitz, how goes the search for the main wire?"

"I've narrowed the search to two of the wires," Fitz quickly replied. "The blue one nearest to the..." He hesitated. "... The wall of the socket. The other is the green one that... dissapears... deeper into her skull."

Jonathan didn't blame Fitz for the wince to the tech reaching into Amador's skull. Definitely wasn't doing wonders for his stomach ethier. "What do they look like? Any distingushing features between the two wires?"

"Shielding is the first thing to come to mind," Fitz said. "One of the wires seems much more enhanced and more of a challenge to cut, while the other is a bit more exposed and vulnerable." He shifted the eye nervously once more. "Both are designed to funnel a great deal of energy directly to the device. Ethier one of them could be the main disconnection wire."

Jonathan felt himself by nervously at his lower lip. He was hoping any kind of different scenario, any kind that was easier to read. Maybe one was away from the eye while the other was directly within. Or one was broadcasting energy while the other was empty. With one armored and one clear... maybe the armored one for better protection. Or maybe they had put armor on the wrong wire to throw them off. There were too many variables and too much at stake to make it correctly.

"Is there any way we could cut them both at the same time?" Jonathan asked nervously, looking up from his work. "Trigger a power disconnect that would cancel out the explosion?"

"We're not sure that would work," Simmons replied. "The device is designed in a way that leaves everything in the air. The wires look to be a system that would cancel out the explosive if it were to be disconnected. However," She motioned to the eye. "The eye itself is a power source that could theoretically run itself. It wouldn't need wire connections to detonate."

"... No, it wouldn't." Jonathan said as he slowly put down the knife and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Okay, okay." He sighed. "... We don't have the time to guess away at which wire to pick. We need someone who knows what a good military/militia mind would think when putting this in." He paused for a moment, his mind searching for any kind of hint of what the person who put the device in was thinking at the moment. Then, it hit him all at once.

 _I can't think of what a military man would plan for this device,_ Jonathan thought to himself as he looked to the feed prevelent on the screen. _But we do have a person on our side who can._ He turned to Fitz/Simmons. "Is there any way I can get in contact with Ward?"

"Way ahead of you." Fitz said with a smile as he slowly released one of his hands on the tweezers and moved it to the communicator near his ear. "...Ward."

Jonathan and Simmons looked to the feed as Fitz's voice echoed through the speakers of Ward's feed, which showed the walls rushing by the feed as he seemed to be running at top speed through the building.

 _"What?"_ He asked, stopping from his dead run and pressing himself back first against the wall.

"You sound winded." Fitz said, rotating the eye cautiously once again. "Is this a bad time?"

 _"A little bit."_ Ward said as he moved to a corner on the edge of another hallway and scouted it out.

"Well, not so good for us ethier, considering I'm holding a still-attached prosthetic eye that could explode at any second."

"We're staring at two wires," Jonathan called out, his attention now fully on the connections to the eye. "One shielded and one exposed. We don't know which one is the main wire to disconnect and we're at kind of a crossroads right now. We need your professional opinion, seeing as how you're more of a military man than any of us, about what kind of wire they would make their main."

 _"Do both wires head a ways into the socket?"_ Ward asked.

"Yes," Fitz answered. "Too far to directly find the source."

"One goes into the side of the socket itself and the other vanishes deeper into her skull." Simmons clarified.

"The one that goes directly in is armored," Jonathan added. "The one that disappears into her deeper skull is unprotected."

 _"Did you remove anything else from the device?"_

"I just dulled the receiver senses on the eye itself and Simmons disconnected the recoil wire to prevent any further damage to her socket."

He heard Ward audibly sigh, though not in annoyance. More in thought.

 _"If I had a choice on a wire to keep my enemies from disconnecting it, I would choose the wire that..."_ He suddenly went completely silent.

"... Ward?" Fitz asked, worry creeping into his voice.

 _"... Cut both now."_

Jonathan found himself almost instinctually looking to the feed on the monitor in confusion. "Ward, what...?"

 _"CUT THEM NOW!"_ Ward yelled out in desperation. And after Jonathan set his eyes on the feed, he couldn't blame him.

There on the feed, stood the startled and even fearful gaze of Ward's reflection, displayed prominently on the cracked mirror in front of him. And it took no thought at all to come to the realization that if they could see Ward on the feed, Amador's handler could as well. And he was not going to be happy.

As Jonathan turned in a panic back to Fitz/Simmons (who's expressions said that they were also as far from calm as they could be), he heard a strained whir of mechanics. He knew the sound almost instantly. The miniscule sound of the devices receivers straining to fix on to an oncoming signal.

Jonathan, in a rush of pure fear and adrenaline, surged forward and grabbed the small pair of clippers on the instrument holder.

"We've got problems," Jonathan said to Fitz/Simmons in a tone that was strained and a bit desperate, but not panicky (at least he hoped not). For the sake of not panicking Amador and making the situation harder. "Fitz." He quickly handed the tool to the young researcher. "You know how to do this far better than I do."

"What's happening?" Amador asked as Fitz lifted the eye higher to keep the wires taught as the whining from the device heightened.

"Oh, no problem." Fitz shakily replied as he quickly took the clippers from Jonathan's hand and spun it to the wires.

"Just... technical issues." Jonathan added over the increased whining as he worriedly turned to the two researches. "Our time-table is running a bit thin."

"Noted," Simmons said in no small worry herself. "Fitz, the last wires on the left..."

"Disconnected." Fitz replied, visible sweat peppering his forehead. "Minimal lasting damage assured..."

"What's wrong?" Amador asked again, a little edge and worry now in her voice as the whining almost reached it's peak.

"Nothing to worry about," Fitz assured as he shakily snipped the last bit of wire, the noise of the device now reaching ever inch of Jonathan's sense of hearing. "Ward explained the sitch."

Just as he said that, and just as Jonathan's chest was about to erupt from pounding, the final _snikt_ was heard as Fitz cut through the last wire. With no time to think and the whine engulfing the entire room, Fitz desperately yanked the eye away from Amador's socket, shot his arm to the above of the small metal cylinder beside him and dropped it in.

With almost no time to react, Jonathan and Simmons both slammed the lid to the cylinder closed with a firm _clap_ , just as a boom with the cylinder shook them booth and a near instant heat up of the lid caused them both to recoil slightly.

There was a moment of silence between the three before the lid was slowly lifted. Smoke poured out of the cylinder and the smell of burning wafted through the noses of all of them. The device had been completely destroyed. But Amador was alive. They were alive.

Jonathan felt himself let out a sigh as he wiped the sweat he didn't know had built up away.

"We did it." He said to both Fitz/Simmons and himself.

Fitz and Simmons both looked to him, then Amador, then to themselves before going back to him.

"Yes, we did." Simmons replied with a relieved smile.

"One-hundred percent completion." Fitz added near simultaneously. (Jonathan wasn't surprised in the least.)

"... Just like I knew we would." Jonathan replied, matching the relieved smiles of the researchers with his own.

Every thought he may have held before was now pushed to the furthest section of his mind. They had won. They had beat Centipede's technology. And, even with the flickering thought of what seemed like guilt in his mind, he didn't see a reason not to enjoy that fact.

 **Ward**

Ward raced through the halls, his footsteps echoing methodically through the hall, almost in tune with the pursuing footsteps of the guards, screaming in Russian as they rapidly began to near him. He turned yet another corner and pushed forward with his adrenaline to another hallway.

He was far from scared, but he had to admit that his nerves were beginning to nip at him. The facility was almost entirely enclosed by guards and checkpoints and he had told Skye to meet him at the south side of the building. But, the way he was being pushed, he knew he definitely would eventually hit a corner flanked with armed guards. He needed another way out that wasn't direct. First, he needed a way up.

His answer came as he reached another crossroads and found his eyes setting on a stairwell ascending up to the next floor. He felt his nerves solidify once more as he wasted no time in charging towards the steps.

"Coming your way." He said in his communicator as his shoes pounded noisily against the metal steps and to the next level.

 _"I don't know what that means!"_ Came Skye's annoyed response.

Ward felt himself mentally sigh in absolute frustration. He left a mental note to himself to teach Skye proper military terms when he got back to the Bus as he reached the top of the stairwell, scouted down the hall with his pistol drawn before resuming his sprint down the hall. He felt his nerves begin to fray slightly once more as he failed to see any seeable way out on this level as well. The only things in his sight were cargo boxes on his left and larger windows on his right.

And the situation only worsened when he heard another spout of Russian a distance behind him, followed by a shattering gunshot that whizzed past him as he ducked away.

 _Plan B,_ Ward thought to himself as his sprint intensified. Another yell of Russian echoed through the hall, but before they could make their next move, Ward made his own. He quickly arced to his right and towards the window, raised his pistol at that same moment and fired The window cracked and webbed as two bullet slammed into it, then shattered completely as Ward rammed into it and flew out the second story window. He heard another distant gunshot between the pinkling of glass, but luckily, it didn't find it's mark.

He felt a bit of surprise as his fall was stopped short by a hard metal clang as he impacted against a heavy duty cargo holder, but he quickly recovered, combat rolling against it's surface and taking off at a run. He quickly reached the edge of the holder and, without hesitation, jumped down to the road below.

His shoes clacked loudly against the cement, and he turned just in time to see the SHIELD car screeching as Skye slammed on the breaks to avoid him. He instinctually held out his arms in front of him as a signal to stop and also to prepare himself in the very likely scenario Skye slammed into him.

In the few seconds of uncertainty, he sincerely hoped that the car would stop. After all he has been through, to be killed by a van driven by his trainee would be an embarrassing way to die in his opinion.

Luckily, his hopes were founded as Skye managed to stop just a few inches in front of him. Her expression slinked to one of relief, happiness and a bit of annoyance as Ward quickly made his way around the car and to the passenger side door.

He threw it open and wasted no time hopping in.

"Let's go." He said to Skye, who firmly nodded and pressed her foot to the gas.

They peeled out of the facility and to the road, making headway back to the Bus and back to their team as Ward let out an audible sigh of relief.

Their mission was completed: no casualties, little resistance. Now all they had to do was wait.

 **Coulson**

As Coulson arrived at the center of Victory Square, he was met by a disheartening sight. The entire location was teeming with people, crowded by groups and families that made up an ocean of possibilities of where the baddie could be.

Coulson frowned. "He probably left as soon as he threw the kill switch." He reported as he made his way through the jumbles of people.

 _"He's there."_ May assured. _"Twenty meters from you."_

Coulson eyes scanned methodically through the faces at May's words. He was close. And Coulson knew who he was looking for based on Amador's description. Heavy-set, spoke with an English accent, armed with a computer, probably nervous at everything that had gone on today. He had to be here.

After a few tense moments of self-questioning and crowd-scanning is eyes finally landed on a heavy-set man leaving one of the buildings, briefcase in hand, eyes scanning methodically around as sweat beaded from his face.

Coulson had found his man.

"I think I got him." He reported as he slightly pushed his way through a group of people and to the path that led to the man.

He swiftly approached, his gaze never leaving the man, looking for any attempts at running as he closed the distance between him and the nervous suspect.

"Excuse me, sir." He called, garnering the attention of the man as he stopped a few feet away from him.

The man looked to him in obvious intense nervousness and questioning. "... I'm sorry," He said in a heavy English accent. "But I'm very late."

Coulson's hand instantly went to hip pocket. He pulled out his SHIELD badge and quickly unfurled it in front of the scared man.

"I'm with SHIELD." Coulson said with a slight smirk.

The man looked to his badge for a moment, absolute horror spreading across his expression as he looked back at Coulson, his breathing intensifying for a moment.

"Oh God." The man whispered.

And before Coulson could get another word in or make another move, there was a small audible snap. And the head Agent of the team watched in shock as the man's left eye snapped entirely to the left with a spark of light and filled with blood.

He stood still for a moment before his expression dropped to one of complete slack as he fell to the ground, unmoving and unbreathing.

Coulson could only look on as the crowd of people that once passed by then without a second thought began to crowd around them, some rushing to the man to provide any kind of aid.

 _This,_ Coulson thought as he watched the people clamor around the man and tried his best to clear them from the scene. _Is a much bigger and much worse situation than I could have imagined._

 **May**

"He was a former MI6 officer who fell off the grid a few years ago." Coulson said to Amador as they made their way through the lab to the hanger.

"My handler was as trapped as I was." Amador replied with a grimace. She was now sporting a medical lense over where her eye used to be and stitches across the scars she gained in combat with May and Jonathan.

May felt her own scars almost sympathetically pulse in pain as she watched Amador place a tentative hand over her wounds as she looked on from the back of the lab. There was a slight guilt in the agent for the injuries she had given Coulson's former protege, but she knew it was a necessary evil when she entered combat against her. Amador wanted to be free of Centipede by any means necessary. While May and Amador didn't enjoy fighting each other, May knew they both felt it was a necessary step at the time.

"Which means the real threat is still out there." Coulson stated. "Big SHIELD's still trying to decipher what was written on that chalkboard. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. Couple of people think it might be alien. Possibly an equation. Must be important if it's worth thirty million dollars." Amador's gaze went to the wall and away from Coulson, which was not unnoticed by the head agent. "... We'll figure it out." He assured.

As Amador looked to the SHIELD security team that had come to extract her, May turned her own attention to one of the lab doors opening to her right. She turned just in time to see Jonathan enter the lab, the scars that he had gained from combat with Amador beginning to heal. The amnesiac asset nodded greeting to her as he moved forward, but stopped a distance away from Coulson and Amador, his expression saying he had sensed the moment between teacher and student.

"You'll get a fair trial," Coulson assured. "I plan on testifying. I know people. You deserve a second chance."

"You already gave me one." Amador replied with little hesitation. "Doesn't matter how it plays out from here. I'm free." She smiled to him as both May and Jonathan took a couple cautious steps forward. "Thank you."

Coulson smiled to his former student, happiness and relief in his expression. "Good luck." He said to her with a smile before walking to the stairwell. As he left, Amador turned her attention to both May and Jonathan.

"I'm sorry," She said to them. "I didn't have control. If I had..."

"It's not your fault." Jonathan said with certainty. "Centipede had complete control of you. Don't blame yourself. I don't."

May nodded to her as the former protege's gaze landed on her as a sign of assurance. She felt the same as Jonathan: It was necessary for Amador to fight to keep her survival. And May didn't blame her for that.

Amador's expression lightened slightly at the words of the amnesiac before they hardened once more. "Coulson told me you don't remember what you did for Centipede before. That your memory is scattered and you're no longer sure what your connection to them was."

Jonathan met her gaze with a questioning expression. And he was far from the only one. May found herself very much intrigued to where Amador was taking the conversation.

"Yeah, that's all true." Jonathan confirmed. He hesitated. "Is there something you can tell me? About... what I was before?"

"Not much that you won't find on the files you extracted out of the Centipede device." Amador replied. "But I can add what little I know to the information you already have."

"I'll take anything you can offer," Jonathan quickly replied. "Please."

Amador nodded to him. "The information that Centipede sent me on you was brief and to the point. They only sent me what they wanted me to know going in to capture you. But, from what I do know, you're far more valuable to them then any other VIP they had gone after." She sighed. "They described you as top-of-the-top. Highly trained in close combat and firearm training. You were trained as a War-Dog, which they didn't go much into. It was something that the higher-ups in Centipede command knew the complete details about, which they refused to share with anyone below their level. But I do know you were part of a certain group called the Yellow Battalion."

"Yellow Battalion?" Jonathan questioned.

"Like I said before, they didn't send much information outside of what to look out for during your capture. But, from the limited information I was sent, Yellow Battalion is one of a group of elites that specialize in the further of a goal. Each are geared for certain aspects of Centipede." She looked to Jonathan. "And you seemed to be vital to the Yellow Battalion. So vital that they are gearing every possible resource they have to the capture of you. And to you alone."

Jonathan averted his eyes away from Amador and to the ground of the Bus, almost as if he was processing everything he had just learned. Then he exhaled before looking back up to Amador, nodding to her.

"Thank you, Akela." He told her truthfully. "I'm glad you told me all this."

"After everything you've done for me," Akela said with a smile. "Keeping what's left of my eye-socket together and freeing me from their control, I figure I owe you enough to help you try to remember who you are, to the best of my ability." She extended her hand. "I hope to repay the favor to you all fully in the future."

Jonathan, although visibly shaken, smiled to Akela and returned her handshake. "Good luck, Akela." He said to her.

"Good luck to you, Jonathan." She replied.

At that, Jonathan smiled to her and moved back to the lab, dissapearing from view. That left only May with Akela, who didn't hesitate to begin following her as she made her way to the SHIELD guard. The senior agent held many thoughts in her head, but she had known far ahead of time the way she wanted to take the conversation. And she wasn't going to divert from her plans now.

However, before she could even begin her questioning, Akela beat her to it.

"What happened to Agent Coulson?" She asked, a perfect mix of questioning and demand in her voice. "He's different."

"Well," May replied. "He's loosened up a bit. He nearly died before the Battle of New York."

That seemingly didn't please Amador as she leaned in closer to May, dropping the volume of her voice. "But what did they _do_ to him?"

This time, May turned to her, her expression scrunched in confusion and questioning. "I'm sorry?"

Amador reeled back at May's response, her own expression one of shock and scanning. Eyes wide for a brief moment, she hesitated. "... Never-mind." She quietly replied before she quickly turned and made her way to the SHIELD transport, breaking off any chance for May to question her further.

As she watched Amador enter the transport and dissapear from her view, she found herself deep in thought, pondering at the more questions she had gained as opposed to the few answers she had been given.

 **Coulson**

Coulson had always made it a point in recent years and ESPECIALLY given recent events to make sure his team was always in the best state of mind and best state of atmosphere. A team that didn't trust one another was always doomed to fail. And a team that didn't trust themselves would be doomed to fail even faster. Coulson had brought this team together with the goal of protecting SHIELD ideals and protecting the world that they loved from the new superhuman threats that had continued to pop up.

His team had repeatedly shown that they were willing and able to overcome any situation at hand in order to preserve the well-being and safety of the innocent. And Coulson wanted to make sure their well-being and health was being cared to as well, which is where he came in and what he aimed to do when he approached the lab.

There, he found exactly the sight he had expected to see: Jonathan, his attention entirely to the large monitor in front of him, his hands moving tirelessly across the keyboard as he searched more into the information he had gathered.

The monitor was a calvacade of their former mission summaries, with every aspect of Centipede that had been uncovered by them on prominent display among the wave of information shooting across the screen.

The search boxes were filled with histories of "The Yellow Batallion" and "The Goal of Centipede" and were only filling up more as Jonathan continued his divings into anything SHIELD could offer on Centipede (which unfortunately wasn't much. Coulson had extensively investigated the SHIELD archives days prior with no results), his eyes, even though brimmed with exhaustion and overall lack of energy, continued to work across the screen.

It was obvious to the head agent that Jonathan didn't plan for his research to end anytime soon. But Coulson knew, for the amnesiac's sake, it had to.

"It's amazing how I find you in this lab more often then Fitz/Simmons," Coulson said, visibly startling Jonathan. "And that's quite an accomplishment, seeing as how Fitz/Simmons have spent most of their time and attention in this lab since we first lifted off."

Jonathan didn't smile, which didn't surprise Coulson. With the amnesiac deep in his own thoughts and mind, he didn't expect him to be in a joking mood at the moment. Instead, he turned his attention quickly back to the lab monitor.

"I was just double-checking, Coulson," He explained as his hands began to type away at the keyboard once more. "Making sure there was nothing I overlooked about the Centipede information. I just... felt like there _had_ to be something I missed. Some... some bit of information about myself that I may have skipped past before or..."

"You haven't been the only one searching, Jonathan," Coulson explained as he stepped forward to the monitor. "We've been through top-to-bottom of the SHIELD Database when it comes to your case and what you've told us. But, we haven't found any outstanding file or word that we have stored that matches whatever Yellow Battalion may be or what Centipede's overall goal is. SHIELD is just as curious as you when it comes to those outstanding questions."

Jonathan frowned, though not towards Coulson. More to himself, it seemed like. "With everything I learned today, I just thought there had to be some connection I'm not seeing. Some... missing puzzle piece that's right in front of my face that I'm not seeing." He sighed. "Something tells me it's there and... I can't stop till I find it. Until I fill these gaps in my head." He looked back to the monitor. "Maybe if I go back further, review everything that was brought up when you guys first picked me up. Maybe there's something that I..."

"That's one of the reasons I came down to talk to you right now, Jonathan." Coulson said to him, stopping the asset in his tracks.

"Agent Coulson," The asset said to him. "If this is about the files that I'm pulling up looking for information, I want you to know that I'm only looking to the files that relate to Centipede. I'm not garnering old SHIELD secrets or..."

"I know." Coulson assured. "You've been working alongside us and using our systems enough for us to know that's not your intention." He adopted his unreadable smile once more. "This is about what happened with Akela."

Jonathan immediatly turned to Coulson, his eyes widened for a moment with shock and a bit of fear before downing to one of understanding and acceptance. He had been expecting this for a while. And the moment had finally come.

"I just want you to know that I didn't go there for myself," Jonathan said. "May and I saw a chance to break the Amador case and get a step up on Centipede. And we took it. Was there a chance I got to learn more about myself by going through with it? Yes. Yeah, there was. But the entire time I was out there, I kept the team in mind." He sighed. "I just thought that we could make things easier on ourselves if Amador was brought in quick under the cover of darkness." He looked up to Coulson. "I'm sorry if I made things harder on the team then I intended to. Or made you question my intentions."

"I know why you did it, Jonathan," Coulson replied with no anger or stress in his voice. "And I understand why. It was a reckless and risky move, and one that any senior SHIELD agent would have shut down in a heartbeat." He smiled. "But it was a move that worked. And I can't argue with results. It was still reckless though, far more reckless than you've been before."

Jonathan looked to him. "What are you saying?" He asked. "That I'm losing my sense of patience? Coulson, if you were going through what I'm going through..."

"I understand that none of this has been easy for you." Coulson replied without missing a beat. "Amnesia is not a pleasent thing to carry, especially in a situation like yours. And I don't blame you for wanting answers." He looked to the monitors that displayed Jonathan's tireless research. "But ever since you first arrived on the Bus, it's been the only thing on your mind. The only drive that you want to hold. You've worked tirelessly around the clock, looking into every bit of Centipede you could uncover. But you've been driving yourself rampet every night, trying to figure out which piece belongs where." He looked to the asset. "You've done all you can. Further beyond what you can, in fact. But I feel like you need to give yourself a break from all this, before you drive yourself crazy."

Jonathan looked completely baffled and confused. It seemed like the asset couldn't say another word for a few moments before he finally spoke once more. "Take a break...? From finding out what my place was in Centipede? From finding how this all comes back to me? From finding out who I was? Who I am?" He hesitated. "Coulson, this is... the only thing I need and want right now. If I can find out who I am tonight or tommorrow with all this, I can finally put an end to every bit of hesitance that I have. I can..."

"I know how it must all feel," Coulson replied with a smile. "All this information coming towards you. Everything feeling like it's on the verge of making sense if you just put everything together over the night. Your entire mind screaming at you that you're just a step away from it all." He made firm eye contact with Jonathan. "Trust me when I say it's more of a pain in the neck than an actual way to drive you."

Jonathan fixed the head of the team with an expression that easily said " _How would you know?"._ Luckily, there was no hesitation in Coulson to answer.

"When I was... brought back from being stabbed before the Battle of New York, I didn't remember a single thing about myself. Memories beforehand, name, social security, job, loved ones. It was all gone." He smiled to himself. "I spent day and night rolling around in my hospital bed, trying to remember who I was. Person after person came in, telling I was Phillip J Coulson. And I was saved from being stabbed by a God."

He could see Jonathan, even though his face was a mix of shock, awe and intense listening, managed a brief smirk before his expression darkened. "How did you do it?" He asked. "Get your memories back."

Coulson smiled. "It wasn't easy. Took a couple of months of rehablitation and bedrest just to shake off my lingering physical wounds. But I still had a mental wound in my opinion: my amnesia. I would refuse to sleep, refuse to concentrate, until I had found every connection I had to my old self. And a good chunk of the time, I would get nowhere. I was tired and scattered thanks to all the nights I had refused to sleep to research. And I wasn't able to find the simplest answers that any other person would have been able to find." He looked up the stairs. "It wasn't until later that I had realized that I was slowly getting my memories back in a much different way then I would have expected."

"How?" He heard Jonathan ask from behind him.

"By keeping my mind off of the past and to the present," He said with a smile. "Running myself ragged putting everything I had into every ounce of research that didn't have all the answers didn't prove effective for me or anyone else. But, stepping outside of the research I had been pining over and just doing what I felt was right and natural at the time. That cleared my head. And opened me up to the good memories I've had in my past, which eventually opened everything else up."

He turned back to Jonathan, who looked to Coulson with a scattered expression. Before Jonathan could speak once more, Coulson beat him to it.

"I'm not asking you to give up your search for answers, Jonathan. I'm just suggesting you take a step back and breathe. Let your mind clear and do something outside of the lab to get your mind off things. You'll be able to see more of the picture if you took a step back from it."

Jonathan went silent for a few moments, his gaze returning to the monitor, the lab, to Coulson, then to the floor, his arms crossed. After a time, he let out a large audible sigh and looked back up to the head agent.

"Okay," He said quietly. "Okay. I'll take a step back, Coulson." He looked to the lab doors. "But what exactly should I do? I don't exactly know anything that can help me get my mind off of the lab."

At this, Coulson smirked. He was already a step ahead of the amnesiac SHIELD asset. "The report from Fitz/Simmons from the surgery said that you 'visibly lit up' at the sight of the device and that you seemed your most calm and collective when breaking down the components piece-by-piece."

"Yeah," Jonathan replied, his tone showing he was unsure of where the conversation was going.

Coulson crossed his arms. "There's an activity in the hanger of the Bus that could offer exactly what you're looking for," He said to him. "And be the place to step away from your crisis."

* * *

"Repairing the SHIELD vans?" Jonathan asked, looking away from some of the bullet-ridden vans and to the head agent.

Coulson nodded to him with a smile. "The vans have taken their fair share of beatings over the last few missions. Cracked axels, chipped plating, busted engines. All large devices comprised of small components."

"Why do I feel like you're just having me do your chores?" Jonathan replied in a sarcastic tone and smile as he made his way to one of the vehicles, genuine interest in his eyes.

"While that advantage did come to mind when thinking of offering you this job," Coulson began, earning a snort from the asset. "That's far from the only reason. Out of all the people on this team with all of their knowledge and skills, it occured to me that we were short a position that was always a valued one, especially to SHIELD strike-forces like ours."

Jonathan looked to him in questioning curiosity as Coulson looked to the cars.

"We were short an mechanic." He finished, which earned an absolutely surprised looked from Jonathan. "Fitz/Simmons are the teams weapon design and technology research. Skye is our hacker and insight into the underground groups. May is our pilot and senior combat instructor and Ward is our combat lead and one of our tactic advisors. We don't have a person who has the capablities to upgrade and repair the vehicles as they see fit and give us the newest and the best of vehicle technology that they can offer. And, to be honest, we weren't sure we would find someone capable of that... until now."

Jonathan looked back down to the vans, a growing excited smile settling across his expression as his eyes began to scan the rows of vehicles in front of him.

"Big SHIELD is offering you the position," Coulson said to him. "If you want to take it."

Jonathan stood in what seemed like a stunned silence for a few passing moments. He placed his hand on the hood of one of the vehicles and he closed his eyes tightly. He muttered something quickly to himself before his eyes opened once more. He looked back up to Coulson, eyes shining and grin apparent.

"Yeah," The amnesiac replied. "Hell yeah, I'll take the job."

"Free reign of the hanger, Mechanic Asset Jonathan," Coulson said with a chuckle. "Can't wait to see what you come up with."

"I can't wait to see ethier, Coulson." Jonathan said back as he crouched beside the van with the cracked axle. Just as he began examining it and just as Coulson began to move to the van beside it, the van Coulson was approaching had it's back-driver window slowly rolled down.

As the window slowly descended, it revealed the form of Skye, who leaned against her seat, phone firmly gripped in her hands. However, her gaze was not on her phone but instead on Jonathan, who she watched in curiosity and fascination as he examined the broken phone.

"And what are you up to exactly, Jonathan?" She asked aloud in genuine wonderment.

Jonathan smiled to her. "Vehicle repair and mechanic work, apparently." He answered as he reached his hand under the van and began working at certain components. "Which is fitting, seeing as how you're now looking at the team's vehicle and component mechanic."

Skye's eyebrow's raised in surprise as she laughed. "Congratulations!" She said with a smile. "Though, I can honestly say I never took you for a car person."

"That's okay," Jonathan answered with a smile of his own. "Neither did I."

As Skye laughed and wished her friend best of luck with the van, Coulson took the opportunity to open the back passenger side door and look to Skye as she rolled the window back up.

"Are you still needing your time?" He asked her.

Her smile widened as she scooted to make room. "There's always room for AC. Slide on in."

He chuckled as he made his way into the van and shut the door behind him. "What's wrong with 'Agent Coulson' or just 'Coulson'?"

"Nothing, I guess." Skye replied. "AC's just way cooler." They both chuckled. "Cause you are, cool." Coulson turned to her with a look. "Not many people would have made that call to give Amador a second chance."

"I got one," He replied. "Seems only fair that I extend the same opportunity to others." He sighed and lowered himself in his seat with a smile. "I can see why you like it in here."

Skye laughed. "Yeah, it's kind of like my van." Her smile slightly dropped. "Without all the bums trying to break in. I don't miss that." She sighed. "It's more peaceful here. It's also cool knowing that I have someone watching my back." She looked to the darkened window. "No matter what."

Coulson found himself smiling at the young hacker's words. He found himself thinking about the agents he had trained, the team of remarkable people he had helped bring together. He found himself thinking of May, Fitz/Simmons, Ward, Jonathan, Skye and finally Amador. How she could finally sleep free from watch now that she was seperated from Centipede.

"Peaceful's good." He agreed.

...

"The strike force sent to Minsk has returned, Superior."

"And?"

"... Jonathan has refused to come willingly back into the fold, sir. Captain Gros tried to talk him down from fleeing with the SHIELD agents, but he failed."

"... As expected."

"Sir?"

"When a dog breaks it's chain, you cannot expect it to return to the pole by it's own free will. Now that he is free, it will take a lot more than words to bring him to heel. Gros may have too much of an attachment to the boy to see otherwise, but I see that we cannot have our plans falter any longer on the boy's account. Send for the Striker. Tell her to meet with me. NOW."

"Right away, sir."

"..."

"..."

"You summoned for me, Superior?"

"Yes. You have proven yourself on many occasions loyal to our cause. Unwilling to falter in any way from your mission, no matter the circumstances. This is what you trained for, yes?"

"Yes, Superior."

"I have a mission for you. A mission that will test exactly how well you were trained to deal with situations like this. I expect no failure."

"And you shall get no such thing, Superior. What are the mission details?"

"... Jonathan of Yellow Battalion has gone rouge. He refuses to rejoin us by choice and he continues to reveal our secrets to SHIELD. This cannot go on any longer. We cannot risk them getting word of the uprising. Our forces will not survive yet another culling. Your orders are to find Jonathan and bring him to me dead or alive. This madness will not go any further."

"And the SHIELD team?"

"They are of no consequnce to us. If they interfere, kill them."

"Yes, Superior."

 **Skye**

 _"... I call."_ Ward's voice said through the communicator. _"And raise one-hundred."_

There was a moment of silence.

 _"Shit,"_ The voice of Jonathan spoke up. _"I fold. Fitz?"_

 _"Hmmm"_ Fitz hummed. There was the noise of a shuffle, then, _"You know how I know I'm gonna beat you, Ward?"_

 _"By losing?"_ Ward asked.

 _"It's really not too soon to back out, Fitz."_ Jonathan stressed.

 _"You have a tell,"_ Fitz said. _"A psychological tic that let's me know your bluffing. If I watch you carefully..."_

There was another pause, this one noticeably longer.

 _" **If I watch you carefully..."**_

It suddenly clicked for Skye that Fitz was cuing her. "Oh, sorry, hang on." She said as she reached around her room, grabbed the glasses and raised them. Before her finger went to turn on the backscatter image, however, she hesitated. "You know, if I do this, not only will I see Ward's cards, but I'll see you without any clothes on?"

There was a brief pause in her communicator before she heard a nervous _"I fold, you win."_ followed by quick footsteps out of the room. She found herself laughing at the predicement Fitz had almost found himself in, but her laughing quickly quieted. Both Ward and Jonathan had turned to look after Fitz in confusion, leaving them both right in her metaphorical sights.

 _Should I?_ She thought to herself. After a second, she quickly placed the glasses on, flicked her finger across the system on the side of the glasses and turned on backscatter. Skye looked on for a moment before she found the sides of her mouth stretching into a grin.

"Hmmm." She hummed to herself as she fully took in the sight.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

 **Next Chapter:** _As a Superhuman under SHIELD watch dissapears without a trace and the team begins to dive deeper into Skye's connection with the Rising Tide, a girl in a flower dress begins to make her appearence to the SHIELD team. Mystery and intrigue flourishes as the team races to save a superhuman from Centipede control and immenint rampage._

* * *

 **Schedule Plans:** _Wow, this is something new!_

 _So, like I said before in the Author's Note, I hope to implement a new story system for myself and all of you so we can have a full schedule of what is releasing when. Like i said before, these long gaps in my stories are something that I'm not proud of. Please know that it's not that I don't care about you guys or my stories. It's just freaking life man. Always gets in the way of my story writing. If it's not college, it's always something equally as pressing. UGH. Thank you to all who have stuck to my stories for so long despite my horrific update keep-up in the past! Know that I love and appreciate you and I thank you for your patience! And to all those joining me for the first time, welcome! Glad to have you and welcome to the schedule! Also, new poll on my profile to decide the next story to dive into as people keep pressing me for more! AHHH! Anyway, that's all I had to say! I hope you all are pleased with the schedule!_

 **Please Note: If weeks are especially well for me, some of these chapters will get done in a week to two weeks, so some chapter gap times may vary in a good way. Also, Sins of the Family and Forgive and Forget, seeing as how they are based on TV shows and can be updated faster due to there being forseeable paths to follow, will be getting double update times seeing as how now that schedule is here, I may be able to pump them out faster.**

 **1\. Sins of the Family (Game of Thrones) Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 **2\. Forgive and Forget (Agents of SHIELD) Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 **3\. AVP/Star Wars Crossover Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 **4\. Sins of the Family (Game of Thrones) Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 **5\. Forgive and Forget (Agents of SHIELD) Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 **6\. AVP/ Star Wars Crossover Chapter Update**

 **(3-4 week gap)**

 *** Week times may change in a good way due to future schedule and/or really good weeks**


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